Game Changer
by AngelKyone
Summary: After a 4 year relationship comes to a startling halt, Abigail Young sets off to New York on her own to pursue her career in theater. What happens when she dimension hops and finds herself in the company of four supposedly fictional individuals she grew up watching? M for language and adult themes.
1. Prologue

Game Changer  
Prologue

* * *

"Okay, keep your eyes closed!" A small, feminine giggle slipped through a bright smile.

"Abby, you know I don't like being led blind." Came the response of a masculine voice, wary of their situation.

"Just a few more steps, I promise!" Another giggle and three more steps before she stopped him. "Okay! Open up!" His grey eyes opened, blinking a few times in the glow of string lights.

"Oh..." He trailed off, taking in the rooftop set up. Before them sat a round table with a bottle of wine, plates of steak and potatoes, and a bowl of strawberries in the center for dessert. A stereo played softly to the side of a small dance floor. The string lights hovered above everything on the overhead lattice work.

"Surprise!" The woman announced, bouncing in excitement. "Do you like it?" He turned to look at her, drinking in her small stature. She'd worn his favorite black dress, heels to match, and fixed her red hair into an intricate braid atop the crown of her head. Her neatly made up green hues met his grey ones and he scooped her up into his arms.

"I love it!" He exclaimed, spinning her around before placing a warm kiss upon her glossed lips. "You truly are an Angel, you know that?"

"Happy birthday, Tommy." She smiled at him and lay her forehead against his. "Now put me down before the food gets cold." He obliged and they both moved to their respective places at the table.

They ate with comfortable conversation floating from them. They had finished their first bottle of wine and made their way to the dance floor, holding each other and swaying together with the music. Now fairly tipsy, they decided to return to their seats.

"I've got something for you!" Abby informed him as they sat.

"This wasn't enough?" Tom laughed, shaking his head. "You do this to me every year."

"I know, but it's worth it, right?" She replied, pulling a neatly wrapped envelope from under the table, the green bow catching the light. Excitement and anxiety rolled through her in waves as she passed it over the table to him. He smiled as he accepted the gift and slid a finger under the wrapping. Once open, he pulled the actual envelope out and slipped his fingers in to remove a single letter. A confused look came over his features and he looked at her for a moment.

"What's this?" He asked.

"Take a look!" She was practically bouncing, her alcohol tipped nose and cheeks turning a brighter shad of red in anticipation. He eyed her curiously before returning his gaze to the paper.

"'_Thomas Taylor, it is with great honor that we extend this offer of employment with the offices of J&R Law Associates in New York City, New York'..." _His voice trailed off as he skimmed through the rest of the letter. Tom's once excitement filled eyes now grew serious as he covered his mouth and lay the letter on the table. "What is this?"

"It's an offer from that big firm in New York that you were always talking about." Abby explained. "You said you always wanted to work there, so I called them to see if they had any open positions..." Her own excitement changed to dread as he closed his eyes and held his head in his hands.

"Why?" He questioned. "Why did you contact them?"

"Well, I know we talked about moving to New York so I could pursue theater and you could get a job with a better firm." She paled, watching him shake his head.

"Abby," he began, "you shouldn't have done this." He didn't even look at her as he spoke. She shifted uncomfortably with his words. "You can't make big decisions like this without me."

"I thought that-"

"That's just it, Abigail," he snapped, finally raising his eyes to meet hers. "You didn't think. I can't just drop everything and move to New York because of some _stupid _pipe dream of yours!" Her heart jumped to her throat before plunging to the depths of her stomach.

"But, we-"

"Just stop, Abby." Tom held up a hand. "Stop." They sat there awkwardly, the tension between them nearly drowning the small girl. "I can't do this..." He spoke after a moment of silence.

"W-what...?" Abby's chest tightened in horror.

"I can't do this anymore." He stood, pushing his chair back slowly. "You're always making these rash decisions." His eyes met hers once again, exposing the tears that enhanced the green hue of her irises. "You take everything too seriously. You make these plans from things we talk about without consulting me."

"Tom, you've wanted to work at this firm for years. I thought this was what you wanted!" Her tears spilled one by one, trailing down her pink cheeks, leaving pale trails behind them. She watched as he turned away from her, stepping onto the makeshift dance floor.

"This is all so you can chase that damn dream of yours, isn't it?" His voice was stern as he questioned her.

"Tommy..." Abby watched him shake his head again.

"If you're that desperate for failure, then fine." He stated simply. "I won't be a part of it."

Her heart cracked.

"I've picked up your pieces for years when you've been rejected from community theater projects. I can't do it anymore."

Another crack.

"If you want to go to New York, you'll have to do it alone."

Her heart shattered.

"I'm sorry, Abby." He left, leaving her on the rooftop set up, clutching her chest and allowing the tears to fall freely.

_Marry Me_ by Train began to play from the stereo, leaving her feeling cold and empty. The man she had given everything to for four long years had just left her like it was nothing. She could hear her friend, Samantha, comforting her about it and insulting Tom now.

Standing and wiping her tears and ruined mascara from her cheeks, she slipped her heels back on and began to pick up what was left of her attempt at a romantic birthday for the only man she'd truly loved.

She knew he was right. That was why she would do it on her own for now.


	2. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: I do not own anything other than my original characters; Abigail Young, Thomas Taylor, Samantha Rose, Emily Lewis._

_No turtles, yet again. We won't see them for a few more chapters. I'm aware that the first couple of chapters are short, but they do get longer, I promise.  
It's a dual upload kind of day. I didn't want to leave you all with just the prologue._

_I should be uploading fairly regularly, as I have through to chapter 9 written out (actually, chapter 12, but I've decided to rewrite everything like a loser)._

_Thanks for reading._

* * *

Game Changer  
Chapter 1

Suggested Audio:  
Elizabeth's Theme – Bioshock Infinite

* * *

_You're listening to 96.1, Kiss FM. If you're out on the roads tonight, watch out! There's a storm rolling in and it looks to be a big one. Chief meteorologists advise to avoid travel and stay indoors at all costs._

"I get it, I see it." A groan came from the small woman, switching from the radio over to the MP3 player setup. The soothing piano base line of Elizabeth's Theme from Bioshock Infinite rolled through the car, soothing her nerves.

Upon the end of the four year relationship with Thomas Taylor, Abigail "Angel" Young chose to start anew. She'd loaded everything she had into her car and decided to drive to New York city on her own. Her possessions were few, filling a duffel bag, two suitcases, and a tote for her electronics.

Nimble fingers played along her neckline, fidgeting nervously with the angel wing pendant that reached between her breasts. She had never been on her own, even when her parents kicked her out at 18. She always had somewhere to go. Her high school friend Emily took her in immediately once she'd found out about Abby's situation. After that, it was Sam, a girl she'd met working in a restaurant, then it was Tom. In her 23 years, she'd never been alone. Yet, here she was, driving over 2400 miles on her own to live on her own.

Lightning flashed overhead, stirring her from her day dream.

_Stay focused._

She kept her eyes on the road, noticing a great lack of traffic around her. Perhaps everyone in the area listened to the warning about the weather and bunkered down? It was a possibility. Locals would know the weather better than anyone.

Linkin Park's "Guilty All The Same" began to play from her phone, a call coming in. A photo of Abby's friend Sam displayed on the screen. She cringed and lifted the phone from the cup holder it sat in and answered it, putting it on speaker phone and holding it in her right hand as she drove.

_"Abigail Young! I swear to GOD I will kill you!" Sam shouted, causing Abby to cringe yet again. "What the hell are you thinking?!"_ Abby sighed and tensed her jaw.

"Hey, Sam." She said nervously.

_"Don't you 'hey, Sam' me, Abby! What is going on?"_ Sam's tone demanded answers.

"I'm taking my life into my own hands for once, Sam!" Abby shouted back at her. "I'm not dragging anyone else down. I'm doing this myself."

_"Where do you plan on going?"_ Sam's tone softened slightly.

"New York." Abby replied.

_"What the fuck is in New York?"_ Another demand. _"Is this 'cause of douche face?"_ The nickname stirred a laugh within Abby.

"Partially." She shrugged, trying to figure out what to say. "I'm going to embrace theater like I've always wanted to. He just lit the fire under my ass." A sigh was heard from the other line.

_"Abs, I gotta say. You weren't the one I imagined running off after a breakup."_

"Sam, it was a four year long committed relationship. I feel super shitty as it is, so don't make it that way."

_"Okay, geeze, I'm sorry."_

"I can't drag anyone else down with me." Abby paused. "If I go down, I don't need you or Emily or anyone else putting their life on hold for me."

_"Abby, you never dragged any of us down. You're family. Em and I don't want to lose you."_

"You won't. Hopefully."

_"Yeah, well, here's to hopin' you don't run into the Foot clan or the Purple Dragons."_ They both giggled at the idea.

Thunder boomed, cracking the clouds to allow a sharp bolt of lightning to escape once again. She was driving into the storm. The wind whipped around the vehicle, causing an audible howl. There was no place she could stop, no safe place to pull over. All around her, trees bent and creaked under the stress of the storm. Lightning ripped through the clouds.

"Sam, I need to get going." Abby's tone was nervous by this point. "I'm driving into a storm."

_"Sure."_ Sam replied. Abby could almost hear the nod her friend gave. _"Just, make sure to call me when you get there, okay? And no gangs!"_

"Sammy, the only gang I want to get involved with consists of four mutated ninja turtles and a giant rat."

_"Who knows?"_ Sam asked, a grin seeping into her words. _"They might just be real!"_

"Har har." Abby rolled her eyes and caught another flash of lightning and crack of thunder. She was in the storm, large raindrops pelting her windshield. "I'll call you later. Love you, Sammy."

_"Yeah, yeah. Love you too, Abs."_ They disconnected, allowing Abby to drop the phone back into its original place.

Lightning ripped through the clouds and struck the pavement hard, tearing into the hard black shell that coated the land. Abby drove right into it.

The next thing she knew, her car was lodged into a drainage ditch to the side of the road. A warm liquid slithered its way down her forehead and between her brows. She reached up to touch the source, finding a fairly large welt with a slit in the center along her hairline.

_I must have blacked out and lost control._

All of her belongings were still in tact and still in place. The engine of her little blue Cobalt turned over, thankfully. Retrieving a map she'd gotten from a gas station when she'd entered Pittsburgh, she figured out the closest motel and managed to get herself out of the ditch.

She drove as quickly as possible to the motel she'd mapped out, finding that their vacancy sign was on. A feeling of relief washed over her. Lifting her duffel bag from the back seat, she found her way in and got herself a room. It would be safer all around to wait the storm out until morning rose and dispersed the clouds.

Something told her the adventure was just beginning.


	3. Chapter 2

Game Changer  
Chapter 2

* * *

Morning rolled around. Abby had been awake for a little while, not sleeping due to anxiety and anticipation of her day ahead. She rolled onto her stomach and pulled a pillow over her head, the morning sun peeked through the curtains in the motel room in an attempt to coax her out of bed. It seemed to work, for she pushed the pillows and blankets away and swung her legs over the side of the mattress.

Abby made a mental list of everything she would need to do, one of which was calling the complex she'd chosen to move into.

First, a shower.

Once clean and somewhat refreshed, Abby pulled her laptop out of her duffel bag and looked up the number for the complex. They'd been happy to work with her, letting her know the room would be ready by that evening and that paperwork and payment would need to be discussed upon arrival. This gave her plenty of time to get back on the road and reach her target city. Closing everything up, she traveled downstairs and returned her room key, passing some cash over to the front desk manager, who's name was Eleanor, and left.

6 hours.

She spent 6 hours cooped up in her car, navigating from just outside Pittsburgh to New York City. The sun had positioned itself to relinquish its position in the sky as she parked and headed to meet the building manager. The woman she met was gentle and plump, a name tag reading Shannon pinned to her chest.

"I've got all the paperwork." She informed, holding up a folder. "Would you like to see where you'll be living?" Abby nodded and followed behind the woman. She'd swung her duffel bag to sit on her back and rolled her two suitcases, the tote resting atop one of the cases. Shannon escorted her up to a corner room on the top floor. The unit she would be occupying was actually a loft. Her main sleeping space was immediately above the entrance, a kitchen sitting off to the side of the front door. Looking in, there was a fairly large designated living space with large glass doors and windows that led out onto a small balcony, complete with a fire escape up to the roof.

"This is amazing..." Abby's voice trailed off as she explored her new home. Past the kitchen was a hallway that included a full bathroom, a linen closet, and laundry space. She noticed that the loft was fully furnished too. A love seat, pullout couch, and recliner sat silently around a low coffee table. In the kitchen, a refrigerator, oven with cook top, microwave, and dishwasher had been installed. There was even a bed and dresser upstairs in the sleeping space near a walk in closet.

"We furnish everything so we have a better grasp on energy usage and efficiency." Abby couldn't argue with that idea. "Is everything to your liking?"

"More than that, Miss Shannon." Abby replied, turning to shake the older woman's hand. Shannon obliged and shook the small woman's hand.

"Perfect! Let's get your paperwork signed then." Shannon laid out the papers on the center island in the kitchen and watched Abby skim over everything before scrawling her signature. "Your first month with us is free so you won't have to pay anything now," the older woman said, pulling all the papers back into the folder she'd brought up.

"Great." Abby nodded and glanced around the open space. "How much will it be next month?"

"$940." Shannon smiled at the smaller, younger woman. They shook hands once more before the manager excused herself, mentioning something about the new front desk attendant freaking out without supervision. This left Abby to carry her suitcases and duffel bag up the spiral staircase to the sleeping space, leaving the tote of electronics and movies on the main floor. Her eyes moved to the wide windows on the wall across from her. She was able to see the sun just as it succumbed to the tall buildings of the city.

_I should have about 2 hours before the sun sets._ Abby thought to herself, pulling her leather jacket from the duffel bag and slipping it over her shoulders, also securing a retractable night stick to her belt. _That gives me some time to get some groceries at least. _She attached the key to her new home onto her keys, rubbing her thumb over the Michelangelo key chain that gave her comfort. Once back downstairs, she turned to look over her new home. With a smile, she shut the lights off and ventured out into the hallway and down the elevator. Stopping at the front desk, a young man sat fidgeting.

"First day?" She asked, her tone startling him.

"First week, actually." He replied. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yeah, do you know of any markets or grocery stores around?" Her eyes gravitated to the movement on the sidewalk just outside the front doors.

"Oh, yeah. Follow 17th down to the light that way-" he extended his arm and pointed to the left side of the doors "-take a right and you should be able to find a small market between the next two lights."

"Got it. Left out the door, right at the light, follow the road until I see the market one to two lights down." She repeated for him, earning a nod and a smile. "Thanks."

"No problem." He sent a wave her way as she exited the building, following his directions.

He'd been right. There was a small independently run grocery mart not far from her building. She got in and out as quickly as possible, purchasing only a few things that would last her the night; a bottle of Sprite, a heat and eat pasta bowl, a bag of beef jerky, and a bottle of sleeping pills. By the time she exited the market, the sun had set and the street lamps had flickered on. Her senses went into overdrive as her feet began to carry her home. There weren't many people out right now, clearing the area once night fell.

Footsteps followed behind Abby, raising the hair on the back of her neck. There was a quiet chatter among men, the footsteps only a few feet behind her.

"_A potential threat will be less likely to attack if you confront them. Ask them for the time or about the weather. They will be put off at the idea that you might be able to pick them out in a police line up."_

The words of the safety office at the restaurant echoed in her brain. Abby never had to use any of what she'd learned that night, so she wasn't sure if it would even work. Turning around, she faced the two men that had trailed behind her and flashed them a smile.

"I'm sorry to bother you, but do you happen to have the time?" She asked with a happy tone. One of the men looked down at the watch on his wrist.

"Uh, it's 8:32." He informed her. The other man watched her hungrily, actually licking his lips.

"Thanks! I must have lost track of time!" She giggled out. Her heart was pounding in her chest as her eyes searched quickly for defining marks on their bodies. They both had one thing in common. A tattoo adorned their left forearms. It looked to be a dragon shaded in purple ink.

"No worries, baby," the lip licker approached her smirking. "We can help you find the time y'lost if you want." She took a step back, holding her hands up.

"It's fine, I should just get home." She gave a curt nod and turned to walk away. The same man grabbed her by the arm and tugged her back.

"C'mon, we got time, you got time. Why not have some fun?" He tried pulling her to him, but she resisted.

"Chris, just leave her alone," the one with the watch said nervously. "There are still people around."

"Fine." Mister grabby hands spat. "Lets step into my office then." He shoved her into an alley she hadn't realized was there. Abby stumbled, but caught herself.

_Tori, your safety shit doesn't work! _

Abby took the opportunity to attempt a run for it, darting further into the alley. She tried to stop before she hit the wall before her, sliding in a puddle and colliding with the brick. A curse escaped her lips and she sat her bag down, reaching for the nightstick she'd carried.

"Stay back!" She warned as they advanced on her.

"Whaddya gonna do, doll face?" Chris hissed out, licking his lips again. She removed the nightstick from her belt and threw her arm to the side, unlocking and extending the stick. "Ooh, scary." He mocked her.

"Stay back." Her second warning was firmer than her first.

"Go get 'er, Eric." Chris shoved the man with the watch toward her.

"I dunno, Chris. This don't feel right." Eric replied, stepping a little closer to her.

"Just fuckin' do it, ya pussy!" Chris shouted at him. Eric nodded and put on a straight face. He must not have been in the gang long enough to be desensitized to his feelings toward attempted assault and rape. He got close enough to her for her to take a swing at him. He leaped back with a yelp.

"Th' fuck, lady?!" He yelled. Now he was mad. He made a lunge for her. She swung again, connecting with his shoulder. He let out a yelp of pain and hit the wall beside them. Abby froze. She'd never had to physically hit someone with her weapon before. In her shock, Chris managed to grab her by the wrist, ripping the nightstick from her hand and twisting her arm behind her back. She cried out in pain, her shoulder resisting the force.

"Be a good girl now." He commanded her, squeezing his arms around her to trap her against him. He'd removed his hand from her wrist, but her arm remained pinned between her back and his chest.

Above them, a group lurked in the shadows, watching the exchange.

"Should we help?" A soft male voice inquired.

"She can pull out of it." A deeper Brooklyn accent responded.

"She might not know how t'fight, bro." A third male voice pitched in, having somewhat of a California surfer guy tone. The fourth figure stayed silent, watching the events unfold.

"Get off of me!" Abby exclaimed, struggling against her attacker.

"Oh, I'll get off alright." Chris said right into her ear, licking her earlobe. A shudder of disgust rippled through her.

_Think fast, think fast...Whiplash!_

A grin spread across her lips.

"You ever had a broken nose?" She asked, minimizing her struggle attempts.

"Not in 15 years, baby." Chris slurred in return.

"What a shame." With that, she leaned her head forward, then swung back. Her head collided with Chris's nose, a loud sickening crack coming from his face. He shouted in pain, releasing his grip on her. She fell into the wall and scrambled to retrieve her nightstick. Once in hand, she ran at Chris, only to be tripped by Eric. She landed on her belly with a groan, the world spinning around her.

"Alright. Let's rock and roll, boys." The silent figure from above said. The four jumped from the rooftop and landed in the alley. Abby tried to regain clarity as she crawled in between a garbage can and a dumpster. Her head was spinning.

It was four versus two. The rooftop saviors easily knocked out and tied up the attackers.

"You doin' okay over there?" The California accent called out to her. There was something familiar about the voice. Abby got back to her feet shakily.

"Yeah..." She groaned and rubbed her chin. "I think so."

"Good to hear." The collected, stern voice of the once silence figure said with relief. Hearing sirens, the four figures leaped up to the fire escape. Abby looked up just in time to see one of the figures on the roof. He was very large and carried, what looked to be, nunchaku on his belt. Recognition flew into her mind as she stared at the figure.

"Michelangelo...?" Her voice was soft, but the figure turned to look down at her before leaping away.

_It's not possible..._

Her mind reeled as she lifted her grocery bag from the ground and ran from the alley before the police could show up.

_They're fictional characters._

She raced to her building, slowing as she entered the lobby.

_There are no such things as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles._

She dizzied once she stepped into the elevator.

_You probably hit your head._

Unlocking her apartment door, she slipped in and relocked it behind her.

_Yeah. You hit your head last night too._

Abby felt the still swollen bump on her head from when she connected with the steering wheel.

_Just a hallucination._

With a sigh, Abby pulled the contents from her bag and set the food in the microwave, giving up on the possibilities. She hadn't realized the stir she'd caused for her saviors.


	4. Chapter 3

_Author's note:_

_Hey guys! I just want to say thank you for the support and kind words you've given in response to the story thus far. I should be updated weekly on Mondays until I run out of prewritten content._

_Big thanks to crystaltonics, alexandriajames96, bell-13-tmnt-lover, chichi, and mindy1981 for the reviews and thank you to all that have Favorited and followed the story._

_Your kind words definitely drive me to continue :)_

* * *

Game Changer

Chapter 3

* * *

"What the _fuck_ was that about?!" Raphael was pissed. He grabbed his youngest brother by the shoulders and slammed him against the air conditioning unit atop the roof they vanished to.

"I-I don't know, bro!" Michelangelo was frightened by his brother's outburst, all color draining from his face, leaving him a pale, almost sickly green. "I don't know what happened!"

"Raph, get off him!" Leonardo commanded, trying to wedge himself between his largest and smallest brothers. Raph snarled at the oldest brother and glared down at Mikey.

"He said he doesn't know, so let him go!" Donatello chimed in, effectively pulling Raph off Mikey and staring with a confused expression.

"She fuckin' knew his name." Raph began to pace angrily, his brothers watching. "Not jus' 'Mikey' but full fledged 'Michelangelo.' Can someone explain this shit t'me?" He faced the three expectantly, fists balled at his sides.

"You're sure you heard her right?" Donnie questioned, checking his gear before pulling his goggles down. "She could have actually said 'Michael' and thanked the Archangel, you know."

"I know what I heard, Donnie!" The hothead growled out, causing the brainy brother to withdraw slightly.

"Look, the best we can do is bring it up to Sensei and see what he says." Leo took a deep breath and sat on top of some of the duct work that led from the rooftop AC unit into the building. "We should possibly watch her."

"I'll do it!" Mikey volunteered with a wide grin, earning another glare from Raphael and blank stares from Donatello and Leonardo. He shrunk back a little before averting his gaze.

"Don't ya think you've done enough damage, Mikey?" Raph spat out. Leo shot him a hard gaze.

"I think it's a good idea." Donnie stated, lifting his goggles again. "If she does know about Mikey, who's to say she knows about us?"

"You've got a point." Leo agreed with a nod. Raph snorted and rolled his eyes.

"I can't fuckin' believe you guys." He threw his arms into the air and moved to the edge of the building.

"Where are you going?" Leo stood quickly, making his way toward Raph.

"April's." He stated flatly. Turning around, he practically got nose to nose with his older brother. "Or you gonna stop me?" They stared one another down for a moment before he spoke again. "That's what I thought." He gave a shove to his brother and leaped down the side of the building to land on a fire escape not far below. Leo sighed and shook his head.

"We, uh, should probably get back to the lair..." Donnie suggested, taking a glimpse at his watch. "Sensei might start to worry."

"Mikey." Leo's voice pulled the youngest to attention. "I want you to follow her. Find out where she lives and keep an eye on her."

"Aye-Aye, Captain!" Mikey responded with a salute. "Now?"

"Now." They nodded to one another and the orange banded brother grinned wide before bounding off in the direction the woman had been going.

"Are you sure this is a wise idea?" Donnie raised a brow ridge, unsure of the whole situation.

"I'm not sure." Leo admitted. "But we need to know if she's a threat or not." His remaining brother nodded. "We should get home." Another nod and they were off the rooftop heading for the nearest sewer opening.

Michelangelo bounded through the darkness, careful to keep away from the eyes of the civilians that wandered about. The woman walked quickly back to a tall apartment building by the name of Rosewood on the corner of 17th and Brookline; not far from where they'd run into her. She was visibly shaken by the attack and kept rubbing her head and fidgeting.

Once she was in the building, Mikey thought that would be the end of his chase. Fortunately for him, he spotted her through semi-closed curtains on the southeast corner of the building. She was nervous, checking the lock on her door and traveling back and forth from her kitchen to the upstairs level of her loft. Mikey got closer to the window, perching on her balcony hidden in the darkness.

He watched her like this for days, always reporting nothing new to his brothers and never telling them exactly where she was.

In the time he'd spent watching her he learned of her varied taste in music, her tendency to rage at video games, and that she sang when she cooked. Though he couldn't always see her, he discovered she hated wearing socks, cursing them every time she'd return home from a trip to the book store or the market. She also had what looked to be a green stuffed animal, he wasn't sure of exactly what it was since he never had a clear line of sight, but he'd learned that she called it by his name.

Tonight, he wasn't at her window. There was a heist going on at a convenience store about four miles away. The Purple Dragons were expanding their territory, riling up everyone in the immediate neighborhoods. The four brothers had been following them for the past week, picking up on their patterns and their habitual small crimes.

Tonight, there were more Purple Dragons than the brothers had anticipated.

Thunderstorms had rolled in and out of the city, dumping heavy rains and filling the sky with light and sound. Another was on its way, filling the air with moisture, building power during the day and ready to unleash its wrath on the bustling city below.

Abby opened the glass doors that led to her small balcony, allowing the cool air and smell of impending rainfall to fill her home. The power had failed once or twice during the last few nights of storms, causing Abby to scatter candles and a few flashlights throughout the loft. The soft piano tones of Yiruma flowed around her as her bare feet padded against the concrete floor and into her kitchen, her new tea kettle crying for her attention on the stove. Turning off the heat, she poured the boiling water over a tea bag into a mug and mixed in two packets of sugar. It was times like these that her solitude brought a smile to her face. Although she was happy to be on her own, she still found herself missing the companionship of having a roommate or even friends nearby. She'd tried calling Sam and Emily in her time there, but as soon as they'd answer the call would be filled with interference and static, making it difficult to have any form of a conversation. Texting didn't even seem to work. At first, she'd thought it was just her phone having issues, but once she replaced it she noticed there was no difference. She ended up blaming it on the strange weather patterns.

Lightning flashed outside, thunder quick on its heels. Droplets of rain began to fall, marking her balcony and the floor near the open doors. Abby slid across the room and closed the doors, but left the floor length curtains open to enjoy the light show. As she crossed the living room, there was a crash from the roof.

_Ms. Jerald's chairs really need to be anchored down._

She shook her head and crossed back to the spiral staircase. As her foot touched the third step, the power dropped. Abby tensed up and stepped back to the main floor, heading to the end table at the corners of her couch and love seat to grab the flashlight she left there. Lightning broke the darkness that engulfed her small frame. A shiver shot through her body and she rubbed her arms for comfort. She loved storms, but didn't take too well to the darkness it caused. Flipping on her flashlight, she moved slowly back to the kitchen to retrieve a lighter for the candles. A small rumble of thunder masked the sound of her balcony doors opening and closing. Turning around, lightning overtook her living room, exposing a tall, large figure as it slipped into the corner, sliding down the wall and landing on the flood with a thunk. Abby's eyes went wide and she dropped to the floor, shutting off her light along the way. Her heart pounded in her chest and her mind spun.

_What do I do?!_

Her breathing grew hard, adrenaline pumping through her veins. She pulled open a drawer next to the sink and pulled a long knife out, holding it tight with the mindset that she would confront the intruder. No one could come into her home uninvited!

A groan of pain and a curse pulled her from her thoughts.

"Dammit...Leo's gonna be pissed..."

That voice. She knew that voice. It was the surfer boy tone she'd heard when she had been attacked the other night. Sucking in a breath, she crouched and crept to the love seat, peeking over slightly. The figure clutched his left thigh, breathing hard.

Something was wrong.

Another deep breath. Abby ventured out from behind the love seat and moved so she was standing before the figure. She flipped her flashlight on and pointed it in the corner.

"Woah! Hey!" The person cried out, covering their face. Their hands were covered in blood. "I come in peace, dude!" Abby's heart stopped. There, in her corner, was Michelangelo, the ninja turtle she grew up adoring. Though, he was much larger than she expected, closely resembling the 2014 Michael Bay design. He cringed and lowered his hands to his thigh to cover a wound. She knelt down next to him and reached for his hands. He looked at her with a frightened expression, to which she gave him a small reassuring smile. Abby lifted his hands and drew in a sharp breath at the sight. A bullet had been lodged in his outer thigh. "Yeah, pretty gross, right?" He tried to laugh, but groaned instead.

"I've seen worse." She smiled again at him, receiving a small pained one in return. "We need to get that out."

"Only if you can stitch it shut." He said, his face pale and ridden with pain. She blanched at his words. He noticed. "You don't know how to stitch, do you?"

"I-I do..." She trailed off and watched a few drips of blood fall onto her floor. "Fabric...not wounds."

"That's more than I knew!" He chuckled then tried to soothe his breathing. "I didn't know anything when my brother needed stitches. He couldn't do it himself, so he had to walk me through it."

"When did Donnie get that hurt?" She questioned. The being before her looked at her with a shocked expression. So she did know.

"How did you-"

"I'll tell you later. Let's get you fixed up, kay Mikey?" He continued to stare at her in confusion. "What do I need?"

"Uh...Needle and thread, peroxide, gauze or towels, and alcohol if you have any." He was speaking through clenched teeth by this point. Abby nodded quickly and gathered up everything she needed for him, including a warm moist towel to wipe away some of the quickly drying blood and a small glass bowl.

"Here," she said, dropping to her knees and removing his hands from his thigh to place the warm towel over the wound. "Sterilize the needle, right?" He nodded and leaned his head against the wall, eyes shut tight. Abby dropped the needle into the glass bowl and poured peroxide over it, covering it completely. Her focus turned back to the bleeding turtle.

"Alcohol." He said, his jaw clenched. She unscrewed the top and handed the bottle over. He took it and quickly began drinking it down. Sucking down the last drop of what was a nearly full bottle of vodka, he slowed his breathing.

"Should we wait for that to take effect?" Abby asked, wiping his thigh clean with the rag. Mikey gave a curt nod. They sat in silence together on the floor while the alcohol set in. Knowing the time was drawing near, the small woman dipped the kitchen knife into the same peroxide as the needle.

"Okay..." He sighed, coming to attention and placing a hand on either side of the wound.

"It's gonna hurt." She warned him. He nodded and took a deep breath. "Mikey?" His bright blue hues met her green ones. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." They gazed at each other for a few seconds before she nodded and looked down at the bullet that stared her in the face. He braced himself and she slid the knife into the wound. He cried out in pain, tears forming at the corners of his eyes. The knife finally slid into place just under the bullet. She placed her index finger and thumb of her free hand over the hole, preparing to pull it out once available.

It popped free, her fingers catching it and dropping it onto a piece of gauze on the floor. She reached for the most cloth and pressed it to the open hole in his leg and pulled him to her.

"I'm sorry, Mikey." She whispered as he breathed heavily into her hair. "I'm so sorry." He choked on his small sobs and pulled away after a minute of comfort.

"T-the peroxide." He didn't expect her to hand it to him this time. It was all her. She lifted the open bottle and took held her breath as she dumped some of the liquid onto his leg and into the hole. He hissed in pain as it bubbled. She wiped it away, then repeated the process until the bubbling stopped.

"Do you need anything before I do this?" Abby asked, pulling his shaking body into her embrace. He didn't dare to wrap his arms around her in fear she'd end up with more of his blood on her than she already had. He found comfort in her quickly beating heart.

"You got more booze?" She gave a small laugh at his response and nodded.

"I have painkillers if you'd prefer." He mulled it over before nodding against her chest. "I thought so. Hang tight, sweetie. I'll be right back." She jumped to her feet and sprinted to her kitchen cabinets. She still had painkillers from when she had her wisdom teeth extracted earlier on in the year. Figuring those would work fine, she pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and bounded back to him.

"I don't know how many you need." Lightning and thunder battled it out behind them, just outside on her balcony. "I had to take two. You're twice my weight, so four would probably be right. Right?" He shrugged at her, tears sliding lazily down his cheeks. Abby shook four out of the pill bottle and opened the water for him. He didn't move. "Mikey, open your mouth for me." He opened his mouth, allowing her to drop the pills on his tongue. "Swallow." He tried to, but found his throat dry. She pressed the water bottle to his lips and tilted it slowly so he could drink. A wave of relief washed over her as he lifted his hand to hold the bottle and drained it like he had the alcohol.

"Thank you." He breathed out, opening his eyes to meet hers. Mikey's eyes clouded with concern and he reached to touch her cheek. "You're crying..." He brushed his bloody thumb over her soft skin, wiping away the moisture that had fallen from her eyes.

"I didn't realize..." She trailed off, then wiped her other cheek across her shoulder to dry herself. "C'mon, let's get you stitched up, huh?" Abby flashed a weak smile. He nodded and pushed himself up a little more. He'd slid down the wall when she'd dug the bullet out.

"Thread the needle like normal. Knot one end." She lifted the needle from the peroxide, threaded it, and knotted the black string. "It's easy. Just stitch a zigzag. Cross back over for strength." He braced himself for the pinching of the needle, but he never felt it. Abby's fingers worked quickly and efficiently, closing up the hole in his leg.

"I need to get you cleaned up, okay?" She asked him, setting everything aside and out of the way.

"How?" He asked. The drugs had started kicking in.

"We need to get you to the bathroom. I can rinse you down there." She stood and held her hands out for him.

"I'm too big." He grunted, shifting so he could take her hands.

"That's okay." She pulled with all her might, lifting him off the floor and slipping her arm around him the best she could. "Just walk with me, okay?" He nodded and limped along side her. She guided him to the bathroom and sat him on the side of the tub. Abby pulled his left leg over the side of the porcelain tub and set it down so it stayed upright. She disappeared briefly to retrieve the flashlight, but lit up the room once she returned. "It's going to be a little cold."

"Sure." He didn't care at this point. His brain was foggy with alcohol and painkillers. Nothing would have bothered him at this point. Or so he thought.

Abby pulled the shower head down and turned it on slowly so there was a gentle flow of cold water. As soon as it touched his leg he let out a yelp of surprise.

"I told you." She smiled weakly and rinsed the blood from his skin, avoiding the already clean area she'd stitched. "Can I trust you in here alone?" She asked, turning off the water and replacing the shower head.

"I've already been shot," he commented. "What other trouble can I get into?" She couldn't help but laugh lightly at his words.

"Okay. I'm trusting you." With that, she exited the bathroom and quickly set up the pullout couch and picked up the empty bottles and the utensils she'd used on him. He couldn't leave tonight, not in his condition. The storm hadn't let up either. There was no way she was letting him leave. When she reentered the bathroom, Mikey situated himself so could wash his hands and so he would be ready to stand whenever she needed him to. The towel he'd used to dry himself sat discarded on the toilet.

"Can I lay down?" He asked, his body visibly exhausted.

"Sure." She gave him a smile and positioned herself next to him. Abby guided him to the pullout couch and assisted him when he needed help laying down. He rolled onto his right side to face the window and keep pressure off his wound. She tucked him in and placed a gentle kiss upon his head, whispering sweet words of encouragement to him.

"Wait." He called to her as she reached the spiral staircase that would lead to her bed. Mikey pushed himself up and turned to look at her figure. "Thank you." A tired smile formed on his lips. "You're an Angel." Abby paused, her heart fluttering with his words.

"Get some rest, Michelangelo." She padded up the stairs and to her sleeping space to change. Her eyes moved to the tired, wounded turtle that took up her pullout couch. With a shake of her head, she slid into the warmth of her own bed, pushing thoughts of the once fictional character out of her head.


	5. Chapter 4

_Author's note:_

_I know, I'm a little later in the day for this update. I rewrote this whole chapter since I wasn't happy with it. Things are moving a little quicker than I originally had written, so we're going places a little faster._

_Once again, thank you for the reviews, the faves, the follows, all that good stuff!_

_Thank you to Mindy1981, chichi, marice, crystaltonics, and asylis312 for your kind reviews!_

_With that, I present chapter 4!_

* * *

Game Changer  
Chapter 4

* * *

_What is that sound?_

Abby sat up rubbing her eyes. There was an unfamiliar noise penetrating her fogged brain. She focused in on the sound and yawned. It was groaning.

_Mikey..._

She threw her bedding off her body and bolted downstairs as quick as she could. Mikey was sitting up, tears in his eyes, clutching his leg. The painkillers had worn off by this point. It had to have been a solid 6 hours since he took them, so it was about that time.

"I'm here, Mikey." She immediately climbed onto the mattress with him, pulling his body to her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and shook as the waves of pain flowed over him.

"It hurts..." He whimpered, holding her tight.

"I know, sweetie. I've got you." She said in attempts to soothe him. Her right hand stroked the back of his head and he focused on her heartbeat. Before she knew it, a song flowed from her lips.

"_Come stop your crying, it'll be alright," _she sang in a hushed tone.  
_  
"Just take my hand, hold it tight. I will protect you from all around you. I will be here, don't you cry._" His sobs slowed and he focused on the tones that reverberated in her chest.

"_You'll be in my heart, yes you'll be in my heart. From this day on, now and forever more._" Mikey's breathing slowed as he began to relax.

"_You'll be in my heart, no matter what they say. You'll be here in my heart, always._" She held him close to her body, slowly rocking him back and forth.

"_Always_." Feeling his even breathing, she knew he'd fallen back asleep holding onto her. With a yawn, she closed her own eyes and fell back into rest as well.

Abby awoke to a large hand playing with her right hand. She made an attempt to shift about, but found weight draped across and down her body. She rolled her ankles and used her left hand to wipe the sleep from her eyes. Mikey's big blue eyes met her gaze as she adjusted to being awake.

"Morning." He gave her a weak smile.

"Morning." She replied, mirroring his smile. He turned his eyes back to her hand and placed her palm against his.

"Your hands are tiny." Mikey remarked, tilting his head slightly to look better at their hands.

"All of me is tiny, Michelangelo." She couldn't help but warm at his words. "I take it you're feeling better?"

"Not really." He shrugged. She sighed and wrapped her fingers around his, effectively holding his hand. "I finally slept okay though." He lowered their hands to her side and snuggled against her. A blush crept to her cheeks as he shifted his head against her chest.

"That's good to hear." She brushed her free hand over his head, then over his shell, fingertips exploring the textures. "Whaddya say we get some food in you. You can take the painkillers while you eat, okay?" He shrugged again and sighed, rolling off of her and releasing his grip on her hand. She slipped from the mattress and stretched, padding across the cool floor to the kitchen.

"Who are you?" Mikey asked, propping himself up on some pillows.

"What do you mean?" Abby asked curiously, pulling a bottle of water from the fridge and four painkillers from the cabinet.

"Who are you? Why are you so cool with this?" He took the water and the pills as she held them out to him.

"Well," she perched beside him on the mattress. "My name is Abby Young. I'm a west coaster. To be honest, I have no idea what's going on either." Confusion rolled over the giant turtle. "The reason I know about you and your brothers is because where I come from you're all fictional characters."

"Seriously?" He asked, swallowing the pills with a cringe.

"Yup." She popped the p and smiled as she stood and headed back to the kitchen. "I have a small collection of merchandise with images of you and your brothers on them. Hell, my keys are on the end table. Take a look." Looking over the side of the couch, he noticed her keys were indeed sitting next to the lamp. There on the keyring was a small plastic turtle that, he assumed, was supposed to look like him as it had his colored mask and an "M" on his belt.

"They made me look fat." He whined, prompting a laugh from her. He spoke again after a moment. "How did you get here?" Mikey drank a little more water from the bottle, watching the small woman roam about her kitchen.

"I have no idea." She replied, pulling a pizza box from the refrigerator. "All I know is that one day you're not real, the next you're in my living room bleeding. You're lucky I don't have carpet."

"Sorry about that," he scratched the back of his head with embarrassment. "I didn't realize someone lived here." He lied. It bothered him to do so, but he felt it necessary on the off chance something truly was wrong with this woman.

"I suppose it was better I dealt with you than anyone else." She shrugged and pulled out a couple plates from the cabinet. "Anyone else might have shot you themselves." Abby paused, then turned to look at him. "That's not how you got shot, right?"

"No." He shook his head and gave a small smile. "Purple Dragons."

"Speaking of which, you and your brothers saved me from a couple the other night." She smiled.

"What? No way." He faked surprise at her words.

"Yeah, way. You want some reheated pizza?"

"Sure. So, were you nightstick girl?"

"'Nightstick girl'?" She popped a plate full of pizza in the microwave, a small mug of water next to it. "Is that what you guys called me?"

"That's what I called you." He sipped more on his water. "Raph called you tiny. Which, now I know, you are tiny."

"Thanks, Mikey." Abby rolled her eyes.

"He also said your fighting sucked." Mikey set the water bottle down and swung his legs over the side of the mattress, telling somewhat of a truth. Raph had said some other things, but they were better not repeated.

"Great. Lemme guess, Donnie stayed out of it and Leo told him to back off?" She pulled the plate from the microwave and transferred one heated slice to the second plate she'd set on the counter.

"Pretty much." He pushed himself to his feet and limped halfway to the kitchen. "Can I use your bathroom?"

"Mikey, you don't have to ask. Just go!" Abby laughed and waved him off, watching him limp down the hall. She heard the door click shut behind him as she crossed from the kitchen to the living room with the two plates of pizza. Along the way, she picked up her television remote and turned it on, filling the screen with life. When Mikey emerged, she was sitting up under the sheets of the pullout watching old Supernatural reruns. He limped back to the pullout and lowered himself gently onto the mattress, taking the spot next to her.

"Which episode is this?" He asked, throwing his belt and nunchaku on the loveseat nearby.

"Yellow Fever." She replied, taking a bite out of the pizza on her plate.

"Ooh, I love this one." He grinned and covered his lap with the sheets and leaned back against the pillows behind them.

The two sat watching the back to back episodes of Supernatural that played usually played in the mornings. The plates that once held their pizza were now discarded on the end table near the lamp. Mikey had begun to doze off shortly after the second episode ended. Abby let him rest and cleaned up the plates and returned the pizza box to the refrigerator. She did some miscellaneous cleaning around the apartment, but ended up settling in the recliner near the window with her sketchpad. She doodled random things that came to mind, but ended up sketching the sleeping turtle on her pullout couch.

Two hours passed by this point. The small woman had music from her MP3 player going softly in her ears as she allowed herself to be completely absorbed in her art. The music blocked out the soft chirping of her guest's home made phone that signified the tracking chip had been activated.

"How long will it take, Donnie?"Leonardo asked, hovering over his younger brother's shoulder. The closeness made the brainy turtle tense up and grow slightly annoyed. They always did this to him when he was working.

"I should have a location in a minute or two." Donatello replied with a shake of his head. "I'm assuming he shouldn't be too far from the heist point from last night. Hopefully he's just wounded and hiding out."

"Dat's some wishful thinkin' there, Donnie." Raphael scoffed, pushing off from the wall he'd been leaning on.

"I'm just trying to be optimistic about it, Raph." Donnie retorted, turning to glare at his older brother. His computer pinged just at that moment, pulling all their attention to the monitor.

"17th and Brookline?"Leo questioned. "That's nowhere near the heist point."

"He could have fled to gain distance." The purple banded terrapin offered with hope in his eyes.

"What're we waitin' for then?" Raph checked to make sure his sais were in place before moving toward one of the connecting sewer tunnels that would lead in the right direction. He stopped to turn and look at his brothers who were giving him looks of confusion. Concern for Mikey? This was new. "You comin' or not?" He called out to them. Both the remaining brothers nodded and followed after him.

* * *

Abby walked back through her door just as the sun was setting, her guest still passed out on the pullout mattress. She carried a few bags into her kitchen, setting them down and kicking her shoes across the room to the small mat by the door. As she unpacked some of the bags, her toes fought with one another to slip her socks off, mentally cursing the restrictive cotton. If it were possible to go everywhere barefooted she probably would. She felt the same way about pants sometimes, but those were necessary in public.

Mikey made a soft grunting noise from the couch, attracting her attention. Luckily, he was still sleeping, but shifted a little to get more comfortable. With a smile, she put away the unnecessary food items, leaving out what she'd planned to use for a small meal.

It really only took her about 45 minutes to cook a small pasta dish. Once finished, she scooted over the the pullout and nudged her sleeping companion.

"Mikey." She cooed at him, stroking his cheek before shaking him gently. "You gotta wake up and eat." He groaned and pulled the sheet over his head in an attempt to have her leave him alone. She tugged at the sheet, removing it from his grasp.

"Angel..." He whined. "I don't wanna."

"You need to." She stated, patting his arm. "We need to get some food in you so you can take your pills. I need to change your bandage too." He groaned again, but sat up and stretched.

"Okay, okay..." He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and moved to stand. Abby slipped under his arm to guide him to the bathroom, closing the door behind him and going back to the glass doors that would lead out to her balcony. It was going to be another stormy night, so she had all intention to open the doors and let the cool night air in before it hit. Just as she pulled the curtains back, the power failed.

"Great..." She sighed and padded across the floor to retrieve her flashlight. "Here we go again." She flipped on her light and picked up the lighter that laid next to it to ignite two two candles on her end table. The next candles that came to life were those in her kitchen, followed by the ones on her entertainment center. Content with the lighting, the small woman shut off her flashlight and set it next to the television.

Lightning illuminated her apartment, signaling that the storm was nearing. With haste, she opened up the two glass doors and lodged her door stoppers beneath them to keep from moving. The cool, wet air slammed its way into the space immediately filling it with the scent of the oncoming rain. A smile worked its way over her lips and she leaned on the balcony railing for a moment to enjoy it. Knowing her guest would need assistance coming out of the bathroom, she began to make her way back inside. An arm wrapped around her from behind, a large hand snaking its way up for cover her mouth. Panic arose within her, stopping her heart briefly. Did the Purple Dragons find her? How could they? Had they actually follow Mikey here and just waited to strike?

"Where is he?" A cold, hard voice questioned her. She couldn't breathe, but her mind raced on. Was this voice familiar to her? Abby's head spun and her assailant held her tight against their chest. Another being growled from behind them.

"She's prolly got 'im locked up somewhere." This voice was harsh and gruff, obviously not happy about the situation.

"I'll ask you again." The one holding her stated, tightening his grip around her waist. "Where is he?" He spoke slower this time, his breath hot on her neck.

"Angel?" Her savior called from the bathroom. "I need some help." The bathroom door opened and hard padding was heard as her new friend limped along the wall. The intruders grew deathly silent. "Oooh, candlelit dinner, huh? I didn't know you liked me so much!" His voice was upbeat and happy, covering the pain he felt. She whimpered, earning a squeeze from her captor. "Angel?" He turned to face the direction her noise came from. Suddenly, his stance changed. He went from leaning on the wall to a fighting stance.

"Mikey, it's us." Another voice. Mikey's stance dropped and, if she could actually see his face, she'd see the confusion as it rolled over him.

"Donnie?" It was evident in his voice now. "W-what's going on?" He narrowed his eyes to see which brother was holding his friend. "Leo, let go of her!" His voice was commanding now. Leo complied and let her go, allowing her to fall forward and let out an uneasy wheeze. All three of his brothers moved to look him over.

"Did she do anything to you?" Leonardo asked, checking him from head to toe. Donatello paused at his leg to survey the damage.

"No!" Mikey pushed them away with an upset expression. "Dudes, she saved me!" Raphael snorted and turned to the girl.

"That pipsqueak?" He scoffed. "You don't seriously expect us to believe that, d'ya?" Mikey huffed and puffed out his chest.

"Mikey, what happened to your leg?" Donnie asked, ushering his brother over to the pullout mattress to sit.

"I got shot." He replied as he pulled away from his family and moved to the small woman who was standing awkwardly near the glass doors. "This 'pipsqueak' dug it out for me." Mikey was uncharacteristically angry with his brothers. "You okay?" His tone softened as he spoke to her, grasping her shoulders and looking down into her eyes. She nodded and swallowed hard, her eyes showing great fear.

"I-I'm okay." She nodded again and closed her eyes in an attempt to steady her pounding heart. The orange banded terrapin turned to glare at his brothers.

"What the fuck, guys?" Yup. He was angry. "You couldn't have called? You couldn't have text?" His arms moved with his words.

"We thought you were in trouble." Leo replied, taking a step forward. "You could have been dead for all we knew!"

"So you come barging in without questions? Seriously, Leo?!" It was Donnie's turn to step forward.

"We had no intention to hurt her, I assure you." The intelligent one explained. "We needed to assess the situation. If she was holding you captive it was the only chance we had to restrain her."

"You coulda called and got the same results!" Another flail of his arms.

"How were we s'posed t'know if she forced ya t'tell us shit, Mikey?" Raphael spit out at him, puffing out his chest in anger.

"That's why we have a code word, guys!" Mikey let out a hiss of pain as he left leg decided to give out in that moment. Abby caught him quickly, straining her body to support the sudden rush of weight. He groaned and Leo rushed to him. Mikey held up a hand and gave a disapproving shake of his head. "Just don't, bro. Just don't." Leo pulled back with hurt in his eyes, but it was quickly covered with a hard intensity.

"I need to look at your leg." Donnie said, hands raised slightly to show he meant no harm. "If you'll allow me to do so." The youngest turtle growled softly. Abby gave him a soft pat on the chest with a weak smile, letting him know it was okay. Mikey and the woman had what seemed to be a silent conversation before he sighed and nodded. She smiled a little brighter and guided him to the pull out mattress.

"Hurts like a bitch..." He cursed as he sat.

"I'll get you the painkillers, okay?" She placed her hand on his cheek and smiled down at him. He gave a weak grin in response and nodded, leaning into her touch and placing his large hand over hers.

"Thanks, Angel." Abby nodded and backed away, allowing Donnie room to look him over. She slipped past Leo and Raphael on the way to the kitchen, not looking up at either one of them. Leo couldn't help but feel bad about what he'd done to her just a few moments ago, but Raphael's eyes were still hard and glaring. He didn't trust the tiny human.

"She's been giving you painkillers?" Donnie asked as he unwrapped his brother's thigh.

"Yeah." Mikey shrugged and winced as the bandage came off, exposing the stitches. "They've been working pretty well."

"Do you know what they are?" Mikey shook his head at the question, to which Donnie nodded. "How bad has the pain been?"

"It's not as bad as it was, but it's a little hard to walk." Another nod.

"The stitches are a little messy, but that's nothing new. They're holding well." Mikey beamed with pride.

"That's Angel's handiwork." Donnie looked up in surprise. "I told her how to do it, but she did it herself."

"She did well." The brainy brother began to re-wrap the wound, but Abby reached out to stop him, earning a growl from he largest brother in the room.

"He needs clean bandages." She squeaked out, frightened by Raphael's blatant show of distrust.

"I can get them." Donnie said, standing to tower over her. "Where might they be?"

"Oh, uh, in the bathroom under the sink. There's a medical kit." He gave a curt nod before slipping away and finding his way to the bathroom. Her attention went back to her new friend. "Here." She handed him the four pills and a bottle of water. He accepted and swallowed the pills before downing the bottled water.

"I thought I needed food before I took these?" He teased. She laughed softly and took the empty bottle from his hand.

"I have some food made up if you want it." He nodded and tugged at her shirt as she tried to take her leave.

"I'm really sorry about this, Angel." His tone was greatly apologetic, his brilliant blue eyes matching. She waved it off and smiled.

"It's fine. Family safety comes first, right?" Her eyes went to Leo who stared for a moment before agreeing with her. "Your brothers care about you, Mikey." Her attention fell back on the youngest brother. "They were concerned is all."

"I guess, but that still doesn't give them the right to just barge into your home like this." Mikey stuck out his lip in a pout, prompting Abby to laugh and flick it. Donnie reentered the room, pausing to watch the exchange.

"Mikey, it's okay. I promise you." He looked down for a moment before his stomach growled. "Let me get you some food." Mikey gave her a nod and let her go to slip between the three older brothers. Donatello moved to their brother and began to re-bandage his leg.

"She seems nice." Donnie spoke softly as he worked, not lifting his eyes. Mikey nodded and smiled lightly. Leo looked at Mikey with concerned eyes and Raph watched the woman's every move. There was unease and distrust in the room, causing Abby's heart rate to jump. She moved about in the kitchen, preparing a plate for him and pulling an orange crush from the fridge. The woman was back at his side within a moment.

"Thanks." Mikey gave her an apologetic smile, to which she shook her head. Donnie stood and pulled the old bandages up with him, looking for a garbage can.

"Everything seems to be clean and tidy, so we'll just need to keep the bandage on for a while, taking it off periodically to let the wound breathe." He spouted off, moving across the room once he spotted the garbage.

"We need to get him home." Leonardo announced, stopping Mikey in mid bite. "We have the tools to care for him there."

"Leo's right." Raphael agreed. "Sooner we get 'im home, the sooner we can forget this happened."

"Wait, what?!" Mikey set the plate of pasta in his lap. "I can barely walk and you expect me to be able to get home?"

"Mikey, I'm sorry, but we can care for you better there." Leo's tone was gentle yet firm, showing he wasn't going to budge without good enough reason. Just as Mikey was about to argue, Abby spoke.

"He's right, Mikey." Her voice was soft and her eyes matched. She dared not look at his older brothers in fear. Her gaze captured his. "They know your physiology better than I do. All I can do is ease the pain." He sat thinking over her words.

"She's right." Donnie said, walking over to place a hand on his brother's shoulder. "She's taking shots in the dark. If something goes wrong inside of you she wouldn't know the signs." Abby looked up to the tall, brainy turtle who gave her a reassuring smile. After a moment he gave a small nod.

"We should get going then." Leo stated. "Father won't be too pleased if we come back too late." Raph gave an affirmative grunt before moving to the open balcony doors.

"Let me package this up for you." Abby smiled and took the plate from Mikey's lap, padding her way into the kitchen to drop the pasta into some tupperware before returning to his side. Donnie already had him standing by this point, a look of pain on the youngest brother's face. "You just take it easy, okay?" He looked down at her and gave a pained smile, to which she patted his plastron. Leo approached his two youngest brothers and the woman.

"I can take that." He said, motioning to the container in her hands. She nodded and handed it over. It seemed like the two oldest brothers never smiled. They definitely weren't like the turtles she knew. Well, maybe a little like the 2007 turtles, but she wasn't sure.

"I'll come see you again." Mikey proclaimed, earning a look from all of his brothers. "I promise." Abby stood there in surprise, but gave a small laugh and a nod.

"Then this isn't goodbye." She held out a small hand.

"Yeah." He grinned and took her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I'll see you soon."

"We ain't got all night." Raphael growled out from the balcony. Leo made his way to the balcony, giving the woman a wick look of thanks. Donnie supported Mikey until they were outside. Abby watched as one by one they disappeared into the dark. A flicker of orange looked back once more from the opposite roof. Then there was nothing.

The rain had begun to fall, the warm pavement outside greedily drinking it up. Abby sighed and closed the glass doors, leaving her curtains open. As quickly as Michelangelo had come into her life, he had gone. She could only hope that he stayed true to his words. That he would be back. That she could see him again.

Only time would tell.


	6. Chapter 5

_Author's Note:_

_I know, I'm a little late today. It's been a long week and I'm a derp that decided to rewrite everything **again**.  
There's quite a bit of filler toward the opening of the chapter, but it does get a little better.  
I've been relatively sick so if there are a few things that don't make sense that's because they probably made sense to me at the time._

_Next chapter should be on time, hopefully. I might be starting a new job next Monday, so the updates will be in the afternoon/evenings instead._

_Big thanks to those who followed and favorited the story so far. I'm just so excited that people like it.  
Also, thank you to my lovely reviewers Mindy1981, crystaltonics, chichi, impartingabyss, and ellabellaboo124._

_Without further ado, Chapter 5!_

* * *

Game Changer  
Chapter 5

* * *

The days passed slowly. Not surprising, Abby hadn't heard anything from Michelangelo or his brothers. She had done her job and was no longer needed, so she tried not to let the youngest brother's absence bother her and go about her daily life.

One afternoon while running errands, a poster inside the grocery store caught her eye. There was a local theater company running auditions for their production of "Mamma Mia!" and they were looking for just about anyone. This was exactly what she came to the city for! This was her chance! Pulling out her phone, she took a photo of the poster and went on about her shopping.

The day of auditions came quickly. Anxiety and anticipation rolled through Abby, turning her stomach and causing her to pick at her nails. She sat in the theater watching person after person present themselves on stage, reading lines and singing excerpts of the songs their characters would sing that would be included in the production. Immediately, the competition was on. There were those who were completely confident with their acting and those who had no skill at all. She would definitely fall somewhere in the panicky and unsure category.

The auditions were done in alphabetical order by last name so she sat through dozens of other people that were trying out for the same part she planned to, feeling worse and worse about her abilities. There were a number of women around her age that seemed to fit the vocal and physical characterization of Sophie.

"Abigail Young?" One of the older women called out from the judgment table. Abby's heart stopped.

_Oh god. Ohgodohgodohgod._

Her mind raced as she stood and made her way to the stage, nearly tripping on her way up the steps. A few of the other girls snickered and looked at her with unimpressed expressions. Once on stage, she swallowed hard and waved to the casting team.

"Um, hi. I'm Abby Young." She introduced herself, receiving a few nods from the team. "I'll be auditioning for Sophie Sheridan." A few showed they were tired of hearing Sophie's lines and songs, but the others just nodded.

"Okay." The head woman jotted down a note before looking back up at her with a smile. "Whenever you're ready, Abby."

"Sure." Abby took a deep breath and looked down at her feet briefly. She gathered up her courage and read a few lines from the script they had provided. Her voice wavered here and there through the audition, showing her nerves. Once she finished her lines, they thanked her and requested a small bit of song, to which she obliged, singing a bit of "Thank You For The Music."

They all sat through a few more auditions before they were let out, the casting team had reassured everyone who auditioned that they would find a place for just about everyone. Not feeling very confident in herself, Abby found herself ordering a pizza and going home, suddenly feeling very lonely as she sat in silence eating in her bed and watching the 1990's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film.

* * *

"No, Mikey." Leonardo stated, moving to drop his plate into the sink. His youngest brother followed behind him whining.

"But Leo! It's been over two weeks!" Michelangelo replied, dragging his feet. "She's probably falling apart without me!"

"I think you're th'only one fallin' apart, Mikey." Raphael remarked as he entered the kitchen to retrieve a soda from the fridge. "She's bettah off without us in 'er life." Mikey turned to look at his burly brother with wide eyes.

"I promised her I'd be back!" He cried out, throwing his hands into the air. "I can't just break my promise! She'll think I'm the scum of the earth!"

"Actually, people break promises all the time." Donatello commented from his work desk, taking a sip of his coffee. "It'll make you no different from anyone else."

"Thanks, Donnie." Mikey said flatly, looking blankly at his brother. "I totally needed to hear that."

"If it makes you feel any better, I've tapped into her building's surveillance system." The purple banded brother turned his chair just in time to see Mikey dart to the desk to look over his computer screen. Donnie rolled his eyes and turned back to the desk to click open the video feed. As soon as he did so, it showed Abby entering the lobby of the building from the elevator and opening her mail box. Mikey sighed and leaned down on his elbows as he watched her, a slightly sad yet dreamy expression taking over.

"She does this every day about this time." Donnie informed him, also watching the woman on the screen. She closed her box and made her way back to the elevator, rubbing her eyes just before stepping inside and away from the camera view. Mikey frowned, but smiled a little more when his brother tapped another button that switched to the elevator view. Abby was leaning against the back wall of the elevator as she traveled up to the top floor. Her face in the black and white image was somewhat hard to read, but they could see the pain in her face.

"She looks so sad..." Mikey pointed out. Donnie switched the view once more to her floor just as she exited and made her way to her apartment. She glanced down to get the right key to open her door, but paused to stare at the small figure that dangled from her bundle of keys. The woman took a deep breath and unlocked her door, slipping inside and out of view for the final time. He knew exactly what she had been looking at.

"She must have had a bad day." Donnie took another sip of his coffee and switched back to what he had been working on. Mikey pulled away and moved back toward their makeshift couch before plopping down and staring into space. Once alone, the techie turtle went back to what he was doing; doing a global search for any information on this woman. He'd had her face from the camera feed and her name from Mikey which was definitely enough to do a search.

* * *

Forty five minutes. He'd spent forty five minutes looking though files and surveillance systems across the country. Confusion rippled across his face at the results. There was nothing. It was almost as if this woman never existed. Sure, there was a record of her renting her apartment and of signing a phone contract with a new carrier, but there was nothing of her before her time in the city. This information baffled the over grown terrapin. Perhaps it was just his systems acting up. They had a tendency to do so periodically. With a sigh, he closed the program and picked up his coffee mug, moving across the floor to the designated living space to watch television with his brothers.

* * *

Abby went back upstairs to remove her pants and crawl into her bed. She set the half empty pizza box on the floor and switched to "The Secret of the Ooze" before leaning back against her pillows. As the film opened, she pulled her phone from her side table and checked for new messages or missed calls. The silence that practically radiated from her phone was unsettling. Sam would be panicking by this point and Emily would have to calm her down. With a deep breath and a hope, she dialed Samantha's number. There was silence on the line before the static took over. A curse escaped Abby's lips as the call dropped. She threw her phone into the pile of clothes on the floor next to the bed and rubbed her face. With no way to reach her friends or family and with no sign of her companion from a few weeks ago Abby felt utterly alone in the big city.

As the movie played on, the small woman dozed in and out of sleep, allowing the movie to finish and her laptop to hum on her lap as she slept. She awoke in a few hours to an idle laptop and a kink in her neck from sleeping propped up. Rolling her neck, she moved from her bed and made her way downstairs to relieve herself in the bathroom. On her way out, her eyes lingered on her kitchen, wondering if she should make something other than the cold pizza upstairs. Deciding against it, she found her way back up and plopped back down among the sheets and blankets. Just as she was pulling her computer back onto her lap, the screen went fuzzy and glitchy.

"What the...?" She tapped the side of the computer lightly, but it continued. Then there was a voice.

"BAM!" It definitely startled her. "You've been hacked by Donatello! We need to speak to you." The voice's request caused her to quirk an eyebrow. She knew he'd done it to April in the new movie, but what were the chances of him doing it to her? "Meet us on your rooftop at 10:30 tonight. If you don't show, then, uh, we'll just come to your apartment." With that, the message was finished and her screen went back to normal, exposing the menu screen of the second Turtles movie. Abby glanced at her clock and saw that it was already after 8. She had two and a half hours before they would show up. Since she had nothing better to do, she grabbed a sketchpad and a pair of flip flops and threw on a pair of cotton pajama pants before she made her way to the roof. A little sketching couldn't hurt, right?

* * *

"There." Donnie said, leaning back in his chair. "It's been sent." He turned to look at their leader, then down into his now empty cup of coffee.

"Good." Leo gave a nod and stood straight. "We're getting to the bottom of this." Donnie sighed and turned back to the variety of monitors with their security set up, checking to make sure everything was in tact and good to go while they were gone.

"We're seriously going to see her?" Mikey vibrated with excitement at the idea. Donnie couldn't help but smile at his little brother's reaction. "I thought we couldn't." The youngest turned to grin at the oldest.

"We're just going to talk to her, Mikey." Leo stated, patting him on the shoulder. "We need to know what she knows about us."

"I told you what she told me, bro." Mikey folded his arms across his plastron and looked at their oldest brother.

"I know, but she knows things about us and we need to know just how much she knows." Leo paused, then lowered his head and sighed. "If she's a non-threat then you can continue to see her." Mikey perked up. "But only if father approves." The youngest slinked back a little, but brightened right back up in confidence.

"D'we gotta bring 'er back here?" Raphael questioned, passing by on his way back from their specialized weight room.

"Yes. Father wants to have a word with her." Leo replied. Raph rolled his eyes and went to go wipe himself down slightly. "We'll be leaving in about 30 minutes." The second oldest just waved his brother off, earning a huff and a glare from the leader.

The time passed quickly as they made their way to Abby's complex, stopping a building over for safety. Leonardo was the first on her roof, staying concealed within the shadows and watching the small woman. She sat quietly drawing in one of her neighbor's loungers, wires trailing out of her ears and through her hair to a small device next to her. He gazed upon her curiously while his brothers joined him one by one. They had been about 20 minutes early to get into position and they definitely weren't expecting to see her already.

Mikey was completely struck by her appearance. The yellow glow of the overhead light exposed her disheveled red hair and lighter skin than he remembered. Her pale blue tank top showed quite a bit of skin along the tops of her breasts, allowing for a gentle shake as she ran her eraser over something she wasn't happy with. She was too consumed by her art, smiling and making faces down at the page, to take notice of the four pairs of eyes that watched her so carefully. Leo watched cautiously, Donnie curiously, Raph with distrust and a hint of unsureness, and Mikey with affection. She blew a raspberry at what she was drawing and erased a little more, laughing softly at whatever it was.

"Let's get this over with." Raph said, snapping out of his stupor and snatching a thick bag from Leo's belt and slipping around to go behind the woman.

"Raph, wait!" Leo called softly before face palming. Mikey stood straight and stepped out from their hiding place to head to where she sat. Leo couldn't believe his brothers right now. Donnie gave a shrug and followed after Mikey, to which Leo sighed and trailed out.

"Angel!" Mikey called out to her, waving to grab her attention. Seeing the movement at the top of her vision, Abby looked up and smiled brightly, dropping her sketchpad to the lounger and pulling her ear buds from her ears.

"Mikey!" She answered, practically leaping to her feet and rushing to him. He wrapped his arms around her warmly and lifted her. The small woman giggled and squeezed him gently. "I missed you." She admitted as he set her down. He flushed a shade darker and rubbed the back of his neck with a goofy grin.

"I missed you too." He replied, earning a smile from Abby.

"So, what did you guys need to talk to me about?" She asked, looking over to Donnie and Leo.

"Oh, well, we understand you have some information about us, correct?" The techie terrapin questioned, pushing his glasses back up to where they should be. She nodded and ran a hand through her hair to smooth it over.

"We need to know just how much you know." Leo said, taking a step forward. Just as she was about to speak, she paused and looked about them.

"Where's Raphael?" Her body turned just in time to see the largest turtle step up behind her and take stance to drop the bag over her head. She let out a squeak and fell back onto her rear, staring up at him with wide eyes.

"Yer comin' with us." He said, kneeling down to look her dead in the eyes. Her breathing grew ragged at the menacing vibe he was giving off.

"Back off, Raph." Leo commanded, taking a step up two the two. Mikey was at her side in an instant to help her back to her feet.

"I understand if you guys want to take me to meet your father, but you don't have to bag me..." She said, leaning on Mikey for support. Raphael growled and stood back up, wringing the bag in his hands with a glare.

"It's a precaution." Donatello informed her, moving a little closer to her to detract from his older brother's building frustration. "I'm sure you know we have to keep our home private from the outside world." She nodded, but still withdrew from them at the sight of the bag.

"I'll hyperventilate in that thing..." She trailed off, pointing shakily at the bag. "I don't do well with stuff like that."

"It sounds like you're claustrophobic." Donnie stated, looking over what seemed to be a tablet. Abby laughed and shook her head, the scene in the first Turtles film with Casey Jones and Donatello coming to mind.

"Not quite." Mikey huffed and pulled his mask off, holding it out.

"We'll just use this then if you guys are gonna be weird about it." His brothers looked over him curiously before Leo gave a nod of approval. "Just bear with me here, babe." She gave an unsure nod and kept still as he wrapped and tied his mask around her eyes, covering her vision and effectively blinding her.

"Can you see anything?" Leo asked as Mikey waved a hand over her face.

"Yeah, how many fingers am I holding up?" The youngest brother held an open hand before her face and she smiled.

"Two fingers and a thumb." She replied, reaching out to take his hand. He laughed and allowed her to grasp onto him gently.

"How'd you know?" He asked. Raph scoffed and tucked the back into his belt line.

"This ain't the time to be flirtin', Mike." He stated flatly, brushing past the two and heading for the edge of the building. Donnie picked up her sketchbook and her music player so they wouldn't be left out for the elements and followed behind, patting Mikey on the shell as he passed.

"Just hold on tight, okay?" The youngest's voice was soft and sweet as he wrapped his arms around her, lifting her bridal style to rest in the crook of one of his arms. She nodded and snaked her own much smaller arms around his neck and clung to him. With a motion from Leo, they were making their way down the side of the building and heading for the next rooftop to get themselves closer to their home.

It wasn't long before the scraping sound of a manhole cover was heard. It was taking a little bit of time for Abby's stomach to catch up with her from bounding across rooftops, so she was thankful for the break as they headed underground. The brothers spoke lowly to one another, sometimes making small chirping noises and grunts at one another. Was this how they communicated when they were alone? Sure, the sounds were absolutely adorable and she wanted to tell them so, but what were they even going on about?

"We're getting close." Leonardo informed them. "Mikey, you can set her down if you want." The orange banded brother shook his head and jostled her so he had a better grip on her body.

"I don't think she wants sewer water on her feet, bro." He said, nodding toward the flip flops that hung loosely from her feet. Leo gave an affirmative grunt and they continued on, traveling deeper and deeper within the sewer tunnels.

"Okay, Mikey. You'll need to pass her down." Wait, what? Passing her down? She tensed up and held onto him tighter.

"I'll take her." Donnie offered, his voice echoing slightly. They must be at the lair already. Images of all the different lairs she knew rolled around in her mind as Mikey positioned himself on the ladder and handed her down to his lanky brother. She squeaked at the change of arms, taking a note that Donnie was much more wirey than Mikey and was a little less hard as well. He gave her a gentle pat before setting her on her feet and making sure she regained her balance after being carried for so long.

"Are you okay?" He asked, leaning down and checking her pulse briefly. She laughed and nodded, trying to calm her heart rate. "Are you sure? Your heart is beating a little quick there." He teased her, removing his fingers from her wrist.

"I'm okay." She reassured him, reaching up to readjust the mask that covered her eyes. It had shifted slightly in the exchange so, knowing she wasn't allowed to take it off yet, she decided to at least fix it.

"You may remove the mask." Came a new voice. It was much older and wiser, sending a chill through the young woman's spine. Mikey went to remove the mask, but her hands brushed over his to untie it herself.

"You got that?" Mikey pulled his hands back to watch her work at the loose knot. She nodded and smiled before removing his mask and holding it in her hands.

"Welcome to our home, child." There he was, in the flesh, the great Master Splinter. Abby was surprised at his size and his appearance. While the brothers resembled the newest rendition of the turtles, Splinter closely resembled the 1990's film version of himself. He smiled softly at her and stepped down from the elevated platform in the center of the room. As he approached, she thought quickly and gave a bow, earning looks of surprise from all the brothers.

"Thank you, sir. It's an honor." She stood back up straight and gazed at the giant rat before her. He wasn't much taller than she was. Abby smiled and looked over to the four turtles behind her before turning her eyes back to Splinter. A small laugh escaped her lips before her head spun and she collapsed. Mikey was able to catch her, but she remained unconscious.

"What do we do?" He asked frantically, looking to his father for directly. Splinter merely placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled.

"It is a lot to take in, Michelangelo. Make sure she is comfortable. We will wait." The four brothers exchanged glances, but all nodded and moved further into the den. It was going to be a long night.


	7. Chapter 6

_Author's Note:  
__I'm a day late, I know. Things got a bit hectic. I've got a little more free time on my hands so I should be able to have chapter 7 out on time next week._

_A big thank you again to my followers and those who have favorited and reviewed._

_Thank you to my regular reviewers chichi, ImpartingAbyss, and ellabellaboo, along with my new reviewers Miss RaeFox and xahraxs._

_Without further ado, I present Chapter 6!_

* * *

Game Changer  
Chapter 6

* * *

"Dudes, what if she doesn't wake up?" Michelangelo was pacing about their living room, frantic about the girl sprawled across their old couch. "I mean, she went down quick!"

"She's fine, Mikey." Leonardo reassured from his chair, rocking it back and forth slightly. "She'll wake up in time, I promise."

"But what if she decides she hates us? What if she doesn't want to see me ever again?" The youngest rubbed at his scaled skull, anxiety rippling through him.

"Then good riddance." Raphael spouted off, flipping through a motorcycle magazine in the kitchen, leaning on one of the counters.

"Her vitals are fine." Donatello commented, checking her signs for the third time in the last 45 minutes. "She seems okay other than going into a small bout of shock." His words did nothing to console the orange banded brother. A groan from the small woman pulled them all from their thoughts.

"Wha-where am I?" Abby fought to open her eyes, obviously unaccustomed to the light above her.

"You're in our home." Donnie said, leaning over her and checking how her eyes dilated in the light. "How are you feeling? Any nausea or dizziness or headache?"

"I-I'm fine, I think." She replied, pushing herself to her elbows. Mikey rushed to her side and helped her sit up. "What happened?"

"You passed out." Leo informed her, kneeling down next to Donnie. "Do you need some water or anything?" Her eyes scanned over the turtles, reality crashing down upon her once again, as if being slapped in the face by the universe wasn't enough the first time.

"I don't want to be a bother." She gave a small smile and patted her friend on the arm to let him know she was okay.

"Yeah, it's a little late fo' dat." Raph remarked, dropping his magazine onto the counter.

"Enough." Came the wise voice from before. Splinter walked slowly and carefully into the room, a carefully carved cane tapping across the concrete floor lightly. "Give her some room, my sons. She needs to breathe." The brothers bowed and stepped back. All except Mikey. He held onto her hands tightly, making sure she was steady to sit up on her own.

"I'm sorry about all of this..." Abby's voice was low and apologetic.

"You're not the first to faint on us." Donnie shrugged and gave her a small smile. The girl laughed.

"That's right." She looked up to Mikey, who remained by her side even as their father stood expectantly. The youngest brother helped her to her feet and placed a hand on her back to keep her balanced.

"I would like to speak with miss Abigail." Splinter said, glancing over to his sons. "Alone." All but Mikey nodded, prompting them to look over to him. "You may assist her, but we must speak alone." Mikey sighed and gave in reluctantly, guiding her to Splinter's meditation suite. She gave him a reassuring smile as she entered, Splinter following behind and sliding the doors closed. He moved around her and took a seat on a pillow, flattened from years of use. Abby took the pillow across from him, sitting atop her legs and laying her hands together in her lap.

"Tell me a little bit about yourself, miss Abigail." Splinter spoke, his hands on his knees.

"Oh, um, well..." Abby thought, drawing a complete blank. She could definitely talk about herself, but sitting face to face with _the_ Master Splinter threw her for a loop. "I'm 23, I lived on the West Coast all my life, I studied theater arts, uh..." She struggled to think of anything else. There honestly wasn't much about her that was crazy important or interesting. The wise rat sat in silence, listening to her speak and nodded as she trailed off.

"It is quite alright, miss Abigail." He said, lifting his hand to stroke his chin. "Donatello tells me that you knew of us prior to your meeting with Michelangelo."

"Yes, sir." She responded.

"And how is that?" He questioned, tilting his head and continuing to stroke his chin.

"Well, you're fictional characters where I come from." The rat nodded and stared at a spot on the floor. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't know specifics about you all." He raised a brow and turned his gaze directly to her. "You were created in 1984. There have been so many different versions that I don't know what applies to you and what doesn't." He nodded again and lowered his hand.

"Tell me then, what do you know of my sons?" Abby blinked and sat in silence for a moment before speaking.

"Leonardo is the leader with katanas. He's also the oldest. In one universe he was obsessed with a television series called Space Heroes, in another he spent some time in Central America to better himself as a leader, and in another he's completely obsessed with his honor, or _bushido_ I think the word was.

"Raphael is the second oldest in most series, though one of the creators confirmed he's actually the third oldest, making him younger than Donnie. He's the hot headed, easily angered, and distrustful brother who uses sais. He's got a problem with cockroaches and other insects, he owned a pet turtle named Spike, and he was the Nightwatcher while Leo was off on his mission.

"Donatello is the third. He's the brainy one with extensive technical knowledge and uses a bo staff. He buries himself in his work and often doesn't sleep for days. He drinks a lot of coffee. It's not really healthy. He worked an IT job while Leo was off and in one universe he's absolutely mad about April, fighting for her affection at every turn against a human boy around her age named Casey Jones.

"Michelangelo is the youngest. He uses nunchaku. He's the goofball. He drinks a lot of soda and he had a cat named Klunk. He loves to skateboard and read comics and he hates polka music. If it were up to him he'd eat pizza every day. He worked as Cowabunga Carl while Leo was away. He's always showed signs of having a crush on April, but never pursued it."

"I see you know quite a bit about them." Splinter finally spoke again, meeting her eyes. "Now tell me, what do you know about me?"

"You?" He nodded. "Well, you're a mixed bag. In one universe you were the pet of a martial artist by the name of Hamato Yoshi. He killed Oroku Nagi, the brother of Uroku Saki, in a fight for the affection of one Tang Shen. Saki killed Yoshi, then went on to become the Shredder." Splinter winced slightly at the name, but waved her on. "In another universe _you_ are Hamato Yoshi. Most of the stories include a mutagen created by TCRI that mutated you and the turtles. Your origins change all the time. In the latest movie you and the brothers were lab experiments under April's father and a man named Eric Sacks."

"Ah, yes. We are familiar with Sacks." The rat lay his hands in his lap and gazed upon her thoughtfully. "It seems as if we are a mixture of the characters you know." Abby nodded and looked down to her hands, fiddling with her fingers nervously. "If need be, can you prove such stories?"

"O-oh, yeah." She nodded. "I've got comics, movies, television shows, merchandise. Anything you want." Splinter raised a hand to show her to calm down.

"It's quite alright. You sound as if you're being truthful. You're nervous, but you're being honest." He observed, causing her to laugh softly. "However, we need to know that we can trust you with such information.

"I won't wear any clothing with your faces on them out in public if that helps." This earned a small chuckle from the rat. "I don't know anyone in the city anyway. Who am I going to tell? I can't exactly get a hold of anyone from back home either."

"Do you know how you got here by chance?" Abby thought about it, then shook her head. "What do you remember?"

"I was driving, lightning struck, then I blacked out. Aside from that, I'm not sure when it would have happened. I hit my head pretty hard." His hand went back to his chin at this point.

"I must meditate on this information." He stated. "You may join my sons if you wish." Abby nodded and scrambled to her feet to slip out of his space. Mikey was waiting rather impatiently on the floor nearby.

"How did it go?" The youngest brother asked, leaping up and leaning over her expectantly.

"Uh...Good?" She replied, looking up at him. "He didn't yell or tell me to leave, I guess. He just said he needs to meditate on it."

"He says that a lot." Mikey put his arm around her shoulders and guided her back to the living room. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure he loved you." Abby sighed and rubbed her face.

"I guess." Even though their father was a very understanding person, the worry sat on her mind of whether or not he would let her stay or make her leave and forget about them forever.

"Don't worry about it, babe." He gave her a gentle pat and motioned to an older looking bean bag on the floor. She obliged and dropped down to sit, almost disappearing within the bag.

"You shouldn't be feeding her to the bean monster, Mikey." Came Leonardo's voice as he entered. "You might not be able to get her out of there."

"Oh, c'mon bro. If April can get out of it, so can Angel." Mikey spoke with confidence. Leo turned his gaze to Abby, who was struggling to even move about the beanbag chair. It was large and missing quite a bit of the beans, but it was still enough to swallow her up.

"I think he's right, Mikey." She said, flailing in defeat. "I can't move!" Mikey's bright blue hues traveled back to the small woman, surprise taking over his features.

"I didn't realize you were _that_ small." He commented, taking her hands and helping her out of the bag.

"Don't feel bad. It takes a little getting used to." The oldest smiled lightly and pointed to their old couch. "You'd have better luck on that until you grow accustomed to the bag." Abby smiled sheepishly and moved back to the couch.

* * *

After about an hour, it was suggested that Abby head back home to get some rest. After all, they had taken her in her night clothing. However, Mikey had been called in to chat with Splinter about the night they'd actually met, so he wasn't able to take her home. Leo took this opportunity as a chance to question her himself. He borrowed one of Mikey's old bandanas and led her to the ladder they'd taken to enter the lair. Abby was allowed to climb the ladder herself, but once they were back into the sewer lines, Leo banded her eyes and lifted her into his arms.

"My brother hasn't stopped talking about you since that night, you know." He spoke, feet splashing softly along in the low water of the lines.

"Really?" Abby smiled and fiddled with her hands in her lap.

"Yeah." Leo nodded. "He's completely smitten." She blushed and readjusted the bandana over her eyes. "Which brings me to say that you better not betray him." Abby's smile fell slightly. "He's very trusting and hurts easily if that trust is broken."

"I-I don't plan to hurt any of you." She said softly, lowering her head. "This is a dream come true for me...Why would I want to ruin that?" The large turtle raised a brow ridge and looked down at her to study her expression as he walked. The air about her had turned somber.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Abby." He softened his tone. "I just need to make sure that nothing bad will come from us trusting you."

"Leo, I've wanted to meet you guys since I was six." Abby admitted, earning a look of surprise from the blue banded turtle. "This is a dream come true for me. I know that it's going to be hard for any of you to trust me, but I don't intend to betray any of you." He listened as she spoke, shock rolling around within him. "I was willing to give up everything to meet you all, and here I am. I'm alone in a city, a _universe_ that I don't belong it with no way to get home and no one to help me if something happens." She covered her mouth to keep a hold of her emotions and took a deep breath. Leo fell silent, unsure of how to respond to that. Was her life so bad she would sacrifice everything to be in their world?

* * *

They reached the surface in no time. Leo was able to take the bandana off from over her eyes and he guided her back to her building.

"Could we talk a bit more?" He asked, lingering in the shadows along the side of her building. Abby looked him over with somewhat sad eyes, but she nodded. "I'll meet you at your balcony then." He slipped into the darkness and left her on her own outside the building. With a sigh, she made her way inside and traveled up the elevator to her floor. She unlocked the door and stepped inside, relocking it behind her. Leonardo was already waiting for her at the glass balcony doors. Abby kicked off her flip flops and padded across the floor to open those doors, giving him a nod as she went back to the kitchen.

"Can I get you something to drink?" She asked tiredly, pulling a gatorade from her fridge for herself.

"I'm alright, thank you." Leo closed the balcony doors behind him and drew the curtains. "I do have to thank you for caring for my brother. It was kind of you to do so." Abby shrugged and sat at her island bar.

"You all would have done it for me." She replied, taking a drink of her gatorade. "It was the right thing to do. I couldn't just let my favorite turtle bleed to death on my floor." Leo nodded and looked about the living room, catching sight of a dvd box set with what he assumed to be himself and his brothers on it.

"May I?" He asked, pointing to the set. Abby followed his finger and looked at what he was gesturing to. Anxiety filled her, but she gave an affirmative nod. Leo crossed the room and picked up the set, looking it over and flipping it over to glance at the back.

"That's the 2012 animated series..." The girl spoke softly and drank a bit more. "It's not the best, but it's pretty good." Leo nodded and read the descriptions on the back before setting it back down.

"They definitely don't look like us." He pointed out.

"Not really." She agreed. "You seem to resemble the most recent movie versions." He gave her a slightly confused look. "There was a movie that just came out recently. It was done by Michael Bay and-"

"Wait, the guy who did the Transformers movies?" Leo interrupted. Abby couldn't help but laugh lightly.

"Yeah, that guy." She confirmed. "April was played by Megan Fox." Leo's eyes went wide and his face darkened a few shades. "I, uh, I have the trailers saved on my laptop if you'd like to see." He eyed her for a moment.

"I would like to see them." Abby gave a curt nod and stood, moving toward the spiral stairs that lead up to her sleeping space.

"I'll be right back then." He moved to the couch and waited patiently for Abby to return with her computer. Once downstairs, she placed it atop her coffee table and sat next to him. She opened up her video folder and pulled open the first trailer. Leonardo's eyes were trained on the screen as the minute and a half long clip played. He puffed up at the close up of himself and cracked a smile when Mikey pulled off his mask for April, but otherwise sat quietly.

"Can you play it again?" He asked. Abby started it up again. He must have watched it at least four times. "Do you have any others?"

"I've got most of them." She proceeded to open up all the other trailers she had, including the released elevator scene and sat watching them with Leo. He seemed unsure at first, but he relaxed and began to believe her story.

"I have to say you're right, we do resemble these versions of us much more than those." He motioned back to the box set on the entertainment center as she moved back into the kitchen to get another drink.

"You should see the 1990's versions." She couldn't help but laugh at the idea.

"May I?" He questioned her, glancing over with curious eyes. Abby turned back to look at him in confusion. Should he really be watching these things? Wouldn't it create some sort of paradox or something?

"You should probably talk to Master Splinter about it first." She suggested. "I'm totally fine with doing a movie night with the old movies and some of the shows. I think I've got the pirated version of the full 2014 film on my external hard drive somewhere we could watch too."

"Perhaps you're right." He nodded and stood, stretching out his legs. "I'll speak with father and see what he thinks about everything. Is there a way we can reach you?"

"Of course." She smile softly and grabbed the notepad she'd kept on her counter, jotting down her number. Moving back across the room, she handed him the sheet of paper. "Call or text any time."

"Thank you, Abby." Leo bowed slightly and made his way back to the balcony doors. "We will be in touch very soon." She lifted a small hand to wave and watched him disappear into the dark of the night.

"Your dream comes true and they don't trust you..." She thought out loud to herself, shaking her head and locking up the balcony. "Maybe in time."


	8. Chapter 7

_Author's Note:  
__A bit late in the day again. I really need to start being regular with my updates again.  
__There's a pleasant surprise at the end of this chapter~!_

_Thank you to horrorfan13 and mela989898 for reviewing and thank you to those that followed and favorited the story._

_Here is Chapter 7 for your reading pleasure!  
_

* * *

Game Changer  
Chapter 7

* * *

"So she was able to show you these parallel versions she spoke of?" Master Splinter questioned his oldest son, sipping at his tea. Leonard nodded and sipped at his own.

"Yes, father." Leo replied with a nod. "She showed me different dvds and trailers for the latest film. It all looked legitimate. I think she might be telling the truth." Splinter stroked his chin in thought, contemplating the possibilities.

"Leonardo, would you call Donatello for me?" Their father turned to look up at his son, who nodded again and set down his tea cup before standing and exiting the room. Within a moment he returned with his purple banded brother, who took his place.

"You wanted to see me?" Donnie asked, making himself comfortable.

"Yes, my son." Splinter placed his cup down on the small chipped plate. "I have a question for you."

"Anything, father." Donnie motioned for him to continue.

"Could you explain dimensional travel to me?" The young turtle's eyes went wide at the request. His father showed interest in his work, yes, but he'd never really asked for an explanation of certain scientific anomalies.

"Oh, uh, sure." Donnie gathered his thoughts for a moment. "Well, as we already know, dimensional travel is possible. We learned this from the Dimension X portal the Shredder funded. There was quite the electrical current flowing through the structure of the portal, thus ripping the reality we know. It's been theorized for hundreds of years that time travel is possible, yet no one bothered to think about dimension hopping. The same electrical currents that would allow one to travel through time also carry the ability to rip open our universe and open up another."

"Miss Abigail said lightning struck before her vehicle. That would be enough of a current to allow the dimensional travel to happen, correct?" Donnie nodded.

"A single bolt of lightning can contain around 5 billion joules of energy. That's enough to power a household for a month. A thunderstorm, in general, is almost like an atom bomb in terms of energy. So, yes."

"It is just as I thought." The elder's hand was back at his tea cup, lifting it to his mouth to sip.

"What do you mean, sensei?" Donnie was confused by this point.

"My son, do you remember the story I told you all when you were young?"

"You told us many stories. You'll have to be a little more specific."

"The lightning rider." There it was. The connection lit up Donatello's mind. Why hadn't he thought about it? Oh. Right. He thought in logic and science, not in folklore.

"How would that even be possible?" His mind was reeling, but his father was calm and collected as ever, sipping a little more of his tea.

"Every story starts with some bit of truth, Donatello." The turtle stared at the old chipped plate on the mat before his father.

"I-I should probably do some research on this." Donnie said, shaking himself out of his daze. His father gave an affirmative motion, letting him know it was okay to leave. The purple banded terrapin bowed his head and stood, moving out of his father's meditation quarters and shuffling over to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee before moving to set up his searches while the dark, caffeinated gold brewed.

* * *

The night dragged on for Abby. The only way she was able to finally go to sleep was with her phone playing Pandora softly. Even then, she awoke every hour or so due to a change in song or her mind waking her. Dark bags hung below her eyes throughout the morning as she cleaned her apartment and reorganized her electronics. Her sheets were in the wash as she worked at the many dvds she'd brought from home, putting all of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle shows and movies together.

Feeling the need find out if April still worked at the news station and a general curiosity of how she looked, the young woman clicked her television over to channel 6 and went to her kitchen to retrieve her dust mop.

"We've got a few more storms rolling in from the white north this week, so expect a few more light shows and perhaps some heavy rains." The weather caster spoke, pointing to the interactive green screened map behind him. She rolled her eyes and started working on her floors. Weather reports were boring and usually very wrong, so what was the point? "And now let's check in with April O'Neil to see what's going on at the event fair today. April?"

"Thanks, Chandler." Her voice was soft and peppy. Abby's eyes went straight to the screen and she stopped what she was doing as it switched from the middle aged man to the young looking red head. "We've got a lot going on down here in Times Square this afternoon." She trailed on with enthusiasm as Abby practically ran to stand before the television.

There she was. She was perfect, almost like a mixture of Judith Hoag and Megan Fox. She had delicate smile lines around her mouth and her laughing blue eyes. Her red hair was lazily curled around her features, spilling over her shoulders. It wasn't quite like the insane 90's curls, but not quite the half curls of the 2014 film. Definitely natural. She even had Judith's cleft chin!

"If you're in the neighborhood come on down! There are plenty of sights to see and plenty of people to meet! I'm April O'neil. Back to you, Erin." April signed off with a bright smile, the screen switching to a plump older woman with paled blonde hair. Abby couldn't help but smile as she turned the TV off and turned on her music. A thought crossed her mind about Casey Jones, but she brushed it off, knowing she'd have to ask about him later on with the four brothers.

A chirp from her phone pulled at her attention. She padded across the floor and picked it up to see a message from the director of the show she'd auditioned for.

_Hey Abby! I hate to say that you didn't get the part of Sophie.  
We need some stage hands though. You interested?_

Her smile dropped slightly at the words, but she shot back a message confirming she'd be willing to help out. They seemed grateful to have her accept, but through text it was hard to determine. She flopped down on her love seat and stared out her glass balcony doors, watching the grey clouds billow over the coast line in preparation of the coming storm. With a sigh, she reopened her messages. There had to have been at least 50 messages she'd attempted to send Sam and Emily over the course of her time in the city. Not a single one of those messages reached them. She shouldn't have been surprised by this, but it was still incredibly hard for her to be alone.

* * *

The hours burned by and darkness fell over New York. The four brothers had gone out for patrol as per usual, but crime was low and seemed to have taken a break for the evening. They sat atop an old apartment building roof to relax, enjoying the quiet night. Mikey, however, didn't enjoy silence as much as his brothers did. He talked about his latest comics and things that happened in his video games. Leonardo listened, humoring his little brother, while Donnie played with his tablet and Raphael twirled his sais, huffing.

"And then I powered up my final attack and the computer totally used their limit break." Mikey trailed on. "I didn't even have a chance to initiate the charge! Can you believe that?"

"Sounds unfair." Leo commented, making his brother smile.

"That's great, Mikey." Donnie waved him off and dragged his finger across the screen of the tablet.

"I can't believe you think we care." Raph stated, rolling his eyes and standing, dropping his sais back into his belt. "I'm gonna go hit up April's." Immediately, Leo's eyes were on the second oldest.

"Excuse me?" He asked, jumping to his feet and placing his hands on his hips. "We have to stay together in case something happens."

"Whatever, Leo." Raph shot him a glare as he climbed over the side of the building and onto the fire escape. "I ain't in the mood for your crap." Just like that he was gone. Leo let out a deep sigh and sat back down, rubbing his face.

"I actually should hit up the junk yard." Donnie informed his brothers, closing his tablet. "I need more parts for the microwave."

"Fine. Just stay in contact. If something happens you need to call right away." Leo gave Donnie a stern look. The purple banded turtle nodded and waved before shifting out of sight as well.

"Well, then I'm gonna go see Angel." Mikey stood and smiled brightly. Leo looked up at him silently, debating on whether or not he should follow. Their father hadn't said to avoid her, but he didn't exactly say to go see her either. Leo didn't fully trust this woman yet. Granted, there was no stopping Mikey once he put his mind to something. The oldest stood and gave the youngest a pat on the shoulder with a small smile.

"Just be safe." Leo gave his shoulder a small squeeze, earning an excited chirp from Mikey before he bounded off the roof.

* * *

Abby bounced around her apartment to the beat of Barenaked Ladies' "One Week" as she slid her spare sheets back in the cabinet. Even though they weren't used, they still needed to be washed periodically to prevent the gross stale smell. Her mood turned back up after the texts from the casting director and she was able to get back into her groove, promptly turning on upbeat music from the 90's and the early 2000's. The main menu of _Turtles Forever _sat on her TV screen idly, waiting to be started again or shut off. Not only had she been listening to music, but the film played in the background providing her with periodic giggles.

The small woman was so wrapped up in her music she hadn't heard the balcony doors open or the soft patter of large turtle feel across her floor. It wasn't until she backed into his plastron that she noticed him. Abby let out a yelp of surprise and spun around to face her guest who smiled brightly and lifted her into a tight hug.

"Angel!" Mikey's voice was filled with joy as he gave her a squeeze.

"I didn't realize you were coming over!" She said with a laugh as she returned his affection. "I would have changed!" He set her down and looked her over. She'd been wearing fleece pants with not only his face printed on them, but his brothers' as well, along with a pale green tank top. It was quite flattering on her figure, but he could definitely tell she'd been busy all day.

"You look fine, babe!" He informed her, brushing her hair back over her ear. She blushed at his words and smiled a little brighter.

"You're such a flatterer, Mikey." He puffed out his chest with a grin, earning a poke to the plastron. "Leo knows you're here, right?"

"I got his permission, I promise." He held up his hand in boy scout fashion with a straight face that he couldn't hold. Laughter burst from both their lungs to the point that Abby had to hold onto him to keep herself from falling over.

"Can I get you some soda or something?" She asked when she finally caught her breath. "I restocked my Orange Crush!"

"You know me so well!" He pulled her into another hug before letting her go to bound barefoot across her living space to the refrigerator. He plopped himself down on her couch and raised a brow ridge at the TV screen. "This one of our movies?"

"Yeah." She replied, moving back to the living room and holding the can of soda out for him. "It's a funny one, actually. Total dimensional breakdown but the original cartoon versions are so freakishly adorable and humorous it's amazing." He liked listening to her talk about them. It was odd, but the way her eyes lit up and the way her voice changed was mesmerizing. Mikey slipped his hand around hers to take the can, earning a blush from the small woman.

"Can we watch it?" He asked, popping open the can.

"I thin you should wait for permission from your father first." She laughed, pulling the disc out of the player and popping it back into its case before sliding it back into the correct section of her entertainment center. "I had to tell Leo the same thing."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." He sighed and took a drink of the soda, watching her move about. She retrieved a full bottle of gatorade from the kitchen counter before returning to the couch with the television remote.

"That doesn't mean we can't watch some other cartoons." She smiled and turned it over to the Cartoon Network where the Kids Next Door was playing again.

"Awesome! I came over at a good time!" He set his soda down on the coffee table and slinked his arm around the back of the couch.

"Any time you come over is a good time, Mikey." Abby nudged him and set her bottle down as well, leaning back into the cushions.

They sat like that on the couch for a little while, laughing at the cartoons and just enjoying one another's company. She'd turned the lights out so there would be no glare on the TV screen, he was also able to watch her without being noticed. There was something about the way she smiled and the way her eyes twinkled when she laughed that made his heart flutter and filled him with warmth. He gave her a gentle tap on the shoulder, prompting her to look up at him, a small smile lingering on her lips. He motioned with his head for her to come closer, to which she blushed, but obliged. Abby scooted a little closer and pulled her legs up under her, leaning against his side. He couldn't believe this was actually happening! Here was the girl of his dreams curled up against his side, allowing him to hold her close.

"Hey, Angel?" He spoke softly, her attention turning back to him. His train of thought derailed rather quickly.

"Yeah?" The way she spoke, the way her lips moved, it was all too much for him to process. "Mikey? Are you okay?" Oh and the way she said his name! It was enough to make a turtle turn back to ooze!

"I-I'm good." He responded finally, his face a deeper shade due to the sudden rush of blood. "I just, uh...Thanks for taking care of me and all." She smiled and patted his leg. He cursed the black sports material he wore, wanting to feel her bare touch instead.

"Thank you for hanging around." She left her hand on his leg as she spoke, her eyes bright and practically glowing in the dark. Before the young terrapin could realize it, his free hand was at her cheek. His thumb brushed over the soft, warm flesh, bringing a flush of color with his touch. Her lips parted slightly in surprise and he leaned in. Abby's eyes fell upon his mouth as he moved closer. This was actually happening, wasn't it? Logic screamed at her to leave it alone, but she found herself leaning in to meet him. His wide mouth was awkward over her small lips, but she didn't mind. He pulled away with an embarrassed grin.

"I've never kissed anyone before." He admitted.

"It's okay." She reassured him, reaching up to place her hand on the one he'd left on her cheek. "The first time is always the hardest." With this, she leaned back up and pressed her lips to his, taking control and molding his mouth to hers. Mikey swore fireworks were going off around them. Upon pulling away once more, he found the storm had finally rolled in, thunder booming and lightning striking.

_Close enough._ He thought to himself as his thumb grazed over her soft pink lips. _I could get used to this._

"See?" Abby asked with gentle eyes. "You're already getting the hang of it."

"I have a pretty great teacher." His compliment caused another blush to rush over her face, spreading up to her ears.

A soft chirping from his phone pulled them both from each other, suddenly realizing what they were doing. Mikey practically ripped his phone from his pouch and glared at the piece of technology. The LED at the top was flashing purple, signaling that Donatello was calling him.

"You should probably take that..." Abby pulled away and picked up the empty drink containers and scuttled into her kitchen, leaving the blushing, flustered turtle behind. With a huff, he answered the call.

"What's up, Donnie?" His voice was somewhat sharp toward his brother.

"_Uh, I need some help bringing stuff home from the scrap yard."_ Donnie said. There was an audible clanking of pieces of metal being moved around. _"Raph isn't answering his phone and Leo's in meditation."_

"Figures." Mikey rolled his eyes and stood up. "I'll be there as soon as I can, bro." He ended the call and looked at Abby with apologetic eyes. "I, uh-"

"Need to get going. It's okay." She made her way back over to him and nodded. Her body was close enough to his that he could feel her warmth. "Let me see your phone?" He gave a slightly confused look, but handed it over. She quickly input her number and handed it back to him. "That way you can text me. If your phones have that capability, that is." He laughed and slipped the phone back into its respective pouch.

"Oh, I can text alright. Raph gets pissed at me when I do it too much." This earned a laugh from her.

"Well then, text me sometime." She hesitated, but reached up and tugged at his mask tails, pulling him down slightly to lay another small kiss upon him.

"Will do." He said with a goofy grin once they parted. He waved goodbye and sank into the darkness outside her balcony, leaving her feeling somewhat cold and alone with his presence no longer filling the air around her.

"Well, congratulations, Abby." She spoke to herself with a deep blush. "You've managed to kiss a fictional character. Strike that one off the list."


	9. Chapter 8

_Author's Note:_

**_Happy Mutation Day!_**

_Shorter chapter because my sanity is gone. The next one will be longer and will explain a bit more. I wanted to get some interaction between Donnie and Abby since Leo and Mikey have had their time with her. No worries, it will still be mainly focused on Mikey, but you gotta give some of the other brothers love and attention in order to earn their trust._

_Thank you to those who favorited, followed, and reviewed!_

_Our reviewers this week were twilight-sweden, mela989898, and chichi!  
And no worries, chichi! You don't have to review each week. I understand things come up :)_

_Happy reading, all!_

* * *

Game Changer  
Chapter 8

* * *

Michelangelo was humming when they entered the lair, arms full of wrapped up scrap metal. Donatello followed behind him with a raised brow ridge and a cart with more scraps and old mechanical pieces. The whole way home Mikey was acting strange. Not in a bad way by any means, but it was a little strange none the less. Donnie laid out different scenarios in his mind in an attempt to figure out why his brother was in such a good mood, but the only ones that seemed to stick were those that contained a certain young woman.

"Where d'ya want these, bro?" Mikey asked happily. Donnie motioned to his lab with a hand, to which Mikey nodded and practically bounced off.

"Mikey," Donnie said, catching his attention as he set the parts down. "Would you mind sticking around? I'd like to pick your brain a bit." Mikey blinked, but nodded as Donnie closed the lab door behind them. The purple banded turtle moved his cart where he wanted it and sat down at his desk, turning the swivel chair to face his orange clad brother.

"What's up?" Mikey began kicking his feet back and forth. The stool he'd chose to sit on was a little taller than normal, so his feet didn't touch the ground, allowing him to kick his feet. Donnie hated it when he did that, but didn't say anything.

"How has your leg been feeling?" Donnie pulled a notepad out and leaned back in his chair.

"Fine." Mikey replied with a shrug. "I thought all the PT and stuff was done?"

"It is." Donnie made eye contact with his brother before looking back down and writing a few questions down. "I still need to make sure you're alright though." How was he going to approach this subject without agitation?

"Sure, sure." Mikey agreed. It was just one of those sit downs then. No big deal.

"And how's Abigail?" Donnie didn't look up from his notepad.

"Angel? Oh, she's great." Mikey's eyes clouded over at her name. "She's _awesome_, bro. You have no idea."

_It _is_ something to do with her. _Donnie wrote that down.

"Is she adjusting well?"

"I guess."

"Still nothing from her friends?"

"I don't think so."

"And she seems to be feeling okay?"

"I guess, but Donnie? Why are you asking me this?" The older of the two looked up and scanned the younger's light blue eyes. They sat in silence for a moment.

"I just want to make sure she's okay as well." Donnie lied. "Dimension hopping is quite the feat and often is hard to adjust to."

"You just wanna call her? I mean, she could tell you a little more herself." Wait, had she given him her number? Donnie was surprised by this fact. Was their father okay with this?

"Maybe in a bit. Just a few more questions." His eyes went back to the notepad. "Does she talk about the night she jumped?"

"Not that I remember." Mikey shook his head and Donnie nodded.

"She enjoys your company?" Color rushed to Mikey's cheeks and a small smile crawled across his lips at the question. "I'll take that as a yes. Care to explain?"

"Oh, uh..." Mikey began to fiddle with his hands, playing with the sweatshirt around his waist. "Well, she's really sweet and nice and she doesn't care that I'm a turtle, that _we're_ turtles."

"Since she knows who we are." Donnie completed the thought.

"Yeah." Mikey nodded. "And she finds my jokes funny and she's so warm and her lips are so-" his eyes went wide and his hands flew to cover his mouth. That was exactly what Donatello was looking for.

"So you kissed her?"

"Ididn'tsaythat!"

"Uh huh. How did that happen?"

"Uh...It just did...?"

"And you have feelings for her?" Mikey clammed up, a blush heavy on his face. Donnie couldn't help but chuckle and remove his glasses. "I saw this coming."

"You'd like her too..." Mikey pouted, folding his arms over his chest.

"You do realize that this could potentially complicate things, right?" Donnie pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head before replacing his glasses.

"What do you mean?" Mikey began to grow uneasy.

"Should she find a way back to her own dimension and should she leave, where would that leave you?" Donnie could see the emotion building behind his brother's eyes. "I'm not trying to tell you it's wrong, but it is something you need to think about." Mikey grew silent and he stared down at his hands.

"You really think she'd leave...?" He asked his older brother, finally raising his gaze. Sorrow was building in his eyes.

"I don't know." Donnie admitted. He reached across and put a hand on Mikey's shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze. "Enjoy your time together, but, just in case, try not to get attached. Okay?" Mikey nodded and lowered his eyes again. A sigh fell from Donnie's lips. "I would like to talk to her if that's alright."

"Sure." Mikey nodded and pulled his phone out and drop it into his brother's expectant hand.

"I won't be long, I promise." Donnie gave a small smile before unlocking the device and scrolling to the new name.

"It's okay." Mikey replied, standing. "Just drop it by my room when you're done." He waved and let himself out of the lab, a melancholy expression playing at his features. Donnie let out a sigh and shook his head. He'd definitely upset his brother. Regardless, he needed answers. He connected the device to his blue tooth ear piece and pressed the call button next to her name.

"_Hello?"_ Her voice was soft and slightly unsure. She obviously didn't know the number, so he couldn't blame her.

"Abigail? It's Donnie." He heard her let out a breath.

"_Hey Donnie. Did Mikey or Leo give you my number?" _She questioned with a laugh. Leo had her number as well?

"Mikey. I'm actually using his phone." He informed her.

"_Oh, okay. I'll save it then. What's up?"_ Her tone was calm and he could almost hear her excited smile. He hadn't heard a woman genuinely happy to talk to him in quite some time. It was refreshing.

"I actually have a few questions for you." He set his notepad on his desk and swiveled his chair around to face his computers. "If you have some time?"

"_Sure! Anything you need."_ He made a small note of that. It may have been irrelevant, but it was something keep in mind for later. Her eagerness spiked his curiosity.

"How are you feeling since you got here? Any headaches or nausea or anything like that?"

"_Um, I think I may have had a concussion from hitting the steering wheel, but once that cleared everything's been fine. General feelings wise, I've been a little depressed and lonely, but that's just from separation anxiety and anxiety in general."_

"Separation anxiety?"

"_I've never lived on my own. And my friends Sam and Emily were always 20 minutes away at most. It's a little scary."_ He nodded as he listened, jotting down notes.

"I'm assuming you didn't see anything other than the lightning when you jumped, correct?"

"_No, I'm pretty sure I saw my steering wheel too." _Abby laughed, prompting a small smile from him as well. _"Sorry. You're trying to be serious. I shouldn't joke."_

"No, no. It's perfectly fine. I'm used to it." He shrugged, the small smile growing.

"_You'd have to be. Living with Mikey and all." _Another laugh. He chuckled slightly this time.

"You're correct." He replied, making a note about her humor. "Have you been having any strange dreams?"

"_Not really. I mean, the only thing that's really different since I jumped is that I don't sleep well during the storms."_ Donnie went quiet, listening intently and writing a few more notes.

"And how is that different?" He questioned, typing the old Lightning Rider tale in his search bar on his computer.

"_I love storms. I've always slept well during them. Now I get this weird feeling whenever they roll in."_

"What does it feel like?"

"_Uneasiness, I guess. Like, almost as if something's wrong."_ He paused, but continued scrolling through different versions of the story.

"Does it always happen when it storms?"

"_For the most part. I feel a little better some nights, but others I get so shaky and weird and...I don't know." _

"How do you feel right now?"

"_I was fine until Mikey left."_ She laughed nervously. _"I know that sounds stupid, but honestly? Having you guys around makes me feel better." _He couldn't help but flush slightly at her words.

"I'd like to observe you on one of those nights, if possible." He stated, writing down her discomfort with the weather. "I'll text you from my personal number a little later so you can let me know when you're uncomfortable."

"_Sure. I wouldn't mind that."_ Abby agreed, her smiling tone coming back. Donnie leaned back in his chair and looked over his notes and glanced at the collection of different takes on the Lightning Rider story on each of his monitors.

"I believe that is all I needed for right now. I appreciate your time, Abigail." He said, setting his pen down.

"_No problem at all. Call anytime you want."_ She laughed. He could hear her shuffling pillows around her. She must have been in bed. _"And Donnie? It's Abby. Only my mother calls me Abigail."_

"Right. Sorry. _Abby._" Her shortened named rolled off his tongue with ease. "I thank you again for your time. Let me know if anything changes."

"_Will do, Donnie." _They said their goodbyes and ended the call. Everything was beginning to connect and make sense now. Donatello definitely had a lot to go over with his father. He slipped his own phone from his pouch and punched in her number before sending her a short text so she had his. He received a smiley in response, letting him know she got it. This girl was definitely an interesting one.

Donnie's eyes scanned over his notes and he sighed, removing his glasses once more and setting them down. He was exhausted. It was already far passed midnight. His brothers were, most likely, already asleep, as was their father. The information he'd been given would have to roll around in his brain for the rest of the night until morning training when he could talk to Master Splinter again.

Picking up his glasses, he slid them onto his cross belt and moved out of his lab, dropping Mikey's phone off in his room before trekking across the hall to his own. The chances of him sleeping tonight would be slim, but he had to try for the sake of his sanity.


End file.
